Christmas in Connecticut
by Skinfull
Summary: A freak storm has everyone in the Dragonfly stranded. Luke and Lorelai "meet/cute" fic :D
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : I've been watching a bunch of Christmas movies this week and this idea just came to me from stealing loads of different scenes from that movie. Fluff. Maybe Smutty. Definitely fluffy.

This is an A/U kind of fic where Lorelai runs the Dragonfly inn, but its in a more remote location than usual. Luke has the diner but he is literally after setting it up, shortly after his dad's death.

* * *

Luke stopped at the junction and looked both ways. The wipers on his truck were doing their best to keep the snow off the window, but it was coming down heavier than they could cope. He grabbed the map from the passenger seat and tried to find the best route home, but that detour he encountered 10 miles ago was proving to be more than a minor inconvenience.

Guessing it would be better to move towards his original direction, Luke took the right turn and followed a winding mountainous road to another junction. He could not make out any of the signage and the map he was reading was useless, so he gambled on a left turn. The radio returned only static and the snow was getting heavier. Luke looked into the back seat to see his fishing tackle box and a woolen blanket. He knew there was a gallon of water in the trunk but it didn't stop a wrinkle of worry tingling up his spine.

By the time darkness had fallen, he hadn't passed another car in over an hour. Luke had all but resigned himself to parking up and sleeping in his truck when he spotted a light in the distance. He gripped the wheel a little tighter and kept one eye on the road and the other on his destination. On the side of the road he saw a large entrance, lit up with solar powered spotlights, highlighting a sign that read "The Dragonfly Inn".

"An inn." He turned on his signal light, though wondered if anyone would even be able to see the blinking light in this blizzard, then pulled across the road and up the driveway. Small torches in the ground lit the way and soon he parked in a spot by the door. Luke killed the engine then sat back in his seat and let out a tight breath between clenched teeth. He didn't want to admit to himself how worried he was about being caught in that blizzard. But now under the soft porch light of the Dragonfly Inn he was able to relax a little. He pulled his coat closed, before he got out of the truck and hurried through the heavy snow to the front door. He stomped his feet on the welcome mat to knock off the loose snow, before walking through the door and quickly closing it behind him.

The lobby of the inn was warm and welcoming. Right in front of the doorway was an ornate staircase that led up to the second floor. To the right an open library room with large arm chairs and sofas surrounded a roaring fire which was framed by a rich oak mantle piece that held a rich Christmas garland and other ornaments. Several people sat around the room sipping what Luke assumed to be hot chocolate or hot whisky, talking quietly over the soft music that was playing from a vintage record player in the corner. To the left was the reception area. A tall standalone counter stood by a window with a modern computer on top of it, a bowl of seasonal candies next to it and a racks of keys on the wall at the back. There was a large sofa against the other wall and a coffee table adorned with many leaflets and magazines advertising local amenities.

Three people stood behind the counter, two of them talking amongst themselves, the third with a customer. An irate customer Luke noted. He approached the counter and tried to get the attention of the other two staff members but one of them, a dark skinned male, turned to him with a frown, looked him up and down, scoffed then turned on his heel and disappeared through a door next to the rack of keys. Luke watched in shock as the door closed then turned back to the other staff member who was looking at him with a smile.

"Hi, how can I help?"

"I'm looking for… directions…to Stars Hallow?"

"Stars Hallow?" The staff member was smaller than Luke. She was curvy and by the uniform she was wearing, Luke guessed she was a chef. She was laughing, seemingly at him, one hand on her hip, the other on the counter as if she needed assistance in standing up. "That's hilarious." she dabbed her eyes with the corner of her apron then turned and left through the same door the guy had walked through.

A little taken aback by the abrupt departures by both of the staff members, Luke turned to the other one member of staff who was now working on the computer. He first noticed her piercing blue eyes and the deep frown she wore as she typed furiously on the keys, obviously searching for a solution to the irate customers problem. She wore a tight fitting navy blouse and she wore a name badge that said "Lorelai - Manager"

"Excuse me…" he said softly as he took a half a step in her direction.

"One second sir, I'll be right with you." she spoke without looking up and Luke clenched his teeth in annoyance.

He waited a moment but she only continued to work on the computer. After a few minutes had passed, Luke tried again, "Excuse me, I'm looking for-"

"One second sir, I'll be right with you." This time she lifted one hand off the keyboard long enough to hold up one finger in his direction but just as quickly took it back and continued to work on the computer.

Luke felt his annoyance increase and was on the verge of just turning around and walking out when he remembered the blizzard that was going on out there. "Look," he said, clapping his hand flat on the counter, a little louder than he intended, in an attempt to get her attention. "I just need to get directions."

Lorelai stopped typing and slowly turned her head to face the guy who just slapped her counter. "I'm sorry sir, I should have dropped everything the minute you walked in. Forget that the paying customer I was talking to before you arrived, needs assistance in sourcing a new suit for his wedding tomorrow that our dry cleaning service are unable to deliver in this blizzard, that's a non issue now that you are here. So… what can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry, I tried to talk to the other staff members that were here earlier but one ignored me and the other laughed at me."

"Oh but that's ok, I'm here now ready to bow to your every whim." Her voice was flat and dripping in sarcasm and Luke felt his anger bubbling in waves around his body.

"I need directions."

"Directions?" She arched an eyebrow at him as if questioning his sanity.

"To Stars Hallow." He scratched the back of his neck under the bill of his cap. "I was driving on the 405 but there were roadworks on and I got detoured. I think I missed the detour turn and got turnaround. So I'm looking for directions to Stars Hallow."

"Okay, well first, you're about 20 miles from Stars Hallow, and in normal conditions it would take about 30 mins to get there. But the road is closed, the state police called earlier to let us know. So unless you have an ATV you will not make it to Stars Hallow tonight."

"Closed?"

"Perhaps you didn't notice the blizzard going on out there?"

"Is there any way to get there?"

She came around the counter and walked to a large topographical map on the wall. Luke followed and found the marker for the hotel on the map was a small dragonfly. She pointed out their current location and then showed him stars hallow. "So you see us and you see Stars Hallow."

"Yeah…wow I'm really off course." Luke rubbed his hand over his face and screwed his eyes shut for a second, then took a step closer to the map. "So the 405 roadworks are here, and my detour brought me this way…And you say this road is closed?"

"According to the state police, this road, this one… and this one, are closed."

"Shit." Luke studied the map for a little while longer and found one questionable route that would take him home in what would normally take an hour and a half, but in this weather could be 3+ hours.

"Feel free to study this map, as long as you need." She pursed her lips and returned to the counter where she got back to work on the computer.

Luke weighed up his options. He didn't relish going back out into that blizzard, but neither did he fancy staying at this inn, which he was sure would make more than a small dent in his wallet that wasn't really able to take much more abuse after all diner refurbishment cost he had just shelled out.

He turned back to the counter to ask about cost and if there were any vacancies but as he approached the counter and put his hand on the edge another customer came rushing over and slapped the bell a few times.

"Hey, hey, so the priest cannot make it, half the guests are snowed in elsewhere, the catering company is charging us whether or not they can deliver the food and my parents are stuck in New Haven."

Lorelai turned to the lady who was still slamming her hand on the bell and smiled in sympathy. "I understand you are stressed-"

"Stressed?" the lady covered her face with both hands and Luke thought she was crying but when her hands came away, there were no tears there, instead it was pure fury. "Stressed does not begin to describe what I'm feeling right now. You have guaranteed me the perfect wedding venue and instead I may not even get a wedding. This location, which you assured me was easy access from multiple directions, has proven to be impossible to breach from ANY direction!"

"Hey now," Luke stepped in and held his hand up in front of the frazzled woman. "This is a freak snowfall this year and we have not seen anything like this in 20+ years in this area. There is no way it could have been predicted."

There was a pause.

The customer stared at Luke. She looked him up and down her mouth agape at his audacity at trying to calm her down. She turned to Lorelai and shouted, "Who the hell is this guy?"

"I apologize for the inconvenience you are experiencing-"

"Inconvenience? You mean my wedding being destroyed?"

"Its not her fault!" Luke said not understanding that he was making it worse.

"Stay out of this, it's got nothing to do with you!"

"Please refrain from interrupting sir." Lorelai looked at him with a pointed glare.

"I need you to fix this." The customer was pointing at Lorelai then offered one final glare at Luke before turning on her heel and walking away.

Luke looked at Lorelai who was now glaring at him with full force. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Butt in where you're not wanted? Cause my paying customer to yell even more? Stop me from having a chance to calm her down?"

"Look I was only trying to help!"

"Help?" Lorelai scoffed. "So you're an expert in customer service?"

"No I-"

"Then you have the solution I need to this blizzard."

"No."

"Then what in the world were you thinking?" Lorelai's voice was louder than she meant but it had been a hell of a day and she wasn't able to reel it in, despite the glances from other customers.

"Clearly I was thinking I could help."

"You were wrong."

"Message received." Luke made sure his coat was buttoned up "Thanks for the wonderful hospitality." He turned and stalked across the room to the front door.

"My pleasure!" Lorelai called out after him. The door slammed after him and he hurried through the snow to his truck. His anger was raging and he gripped the wheel tight enough to whiten his knuckles. Whatever time it took him to make it to Stars Hallow, it would be time better spent than staying at that Inn. He went over the route in his mind before reversing out of the parking space and driving slowly down the drive. Half of his brain was screaming at the insanity of his leaving the warm comfort of that inn, the other half was egging him on in his stubborn storm out. He reached the bottom of the drive and took the left turn then drove as fast as he dared, all the while willing his wipers to improve.

Lorelai brushed her hair back from her face, and puffed her cheeks out with a hot angry breath. She turned and walked through the door behind the desk into the kitchen. Sookie, the head chef, was singing a Christmas tune as she stirred a large pot of stew then tasted it, added a pinch of salt then put the lid back on and continued to sing.

"Hey Sookie, is there any hot chocolate left?"

"Sure I just made a new batch, with caramel."

"Oh god, hit me up, make it a double."

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah," Lorelai sat on the high stool by the centre island and dropped her head into her hands. "I mean the grooms wedding suit never arrived, half the guests can't get through the storm, the catering will never deliver the food, and the most important component, the priest, is stuck in new haven. But apart from that… everything is ok."

"Oh honey," Sookie soothed her and rubbed her arm then reached into the pantry and took out a few large marshmallows to add to her hot chocolate. "Here, drink this." she handed her the cup and squeezed her arm. "You can't be responsible for this storm." Sookie rubbed Lorelai's back in soft circles as she spoke. "I know we can find a suit around here somewhere, I can cover the catering for the wedding."

"Oh Sookie thats great but their family cannot make it and we don't even have a priest."

Sookie sighed. "We're going to lose a bomb on this wedding."

"I'll offer to host them again, free of charge."

"I'll cater. We can get discount on the food then."

They both looked at each other with sad smiles. "I'll go chat to the bride and see if I can salvage anything from today's disaster."

Lorelai took a long sip of her chocolate then stood and brushed down the front of her grey skirt before leaving the kitchen to look for the disgruntled bride. She was walking through the lobby smiling at guests and making her way towards the stairs when one of the groundskeepers cam bursting through the door.

"Ms Lorelai!" he called. "Ms Lorelai, there's been a crash!"

"What?"

"Down at Culver's cross, a truck is off the road."

"Oh god, is anyone hurt?"

"I'm on my way down there now, I'm going to take Cletus, and Harry is riding Desdemona to get down there quick. I need a first aid kit, just in case."

Lorelai rushed to a cupboard under the stairs and pulled out a small first aid kit. She handed it to the groundskeeper who ran off to the stables to get to the crash site. Lorelai followed him to the door and looked out at the heavy blizzard that was falling. She grabbed the phone by the door but there was still no signal. "Dammit." She hurried back to the staff room and found Tom eating a sandwich and watching the game. "Hey Tom! The snow chains are still on the truck right?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Great, where are the keys?"

"The keys? You're not going out in that are you?" Tom stood up and took a few steps towards her.

"There's been a crash down at Culver's cross, Ollie and Harry are riding horses down there now."

"I'll go, you wait here." Tom hurried off leaving Lorelai in his wake. She hated being left behind, she hated being left to stew. She needed to keep busy until the staff got back with news. She took a deep breath and got back to her original task.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** : I totally forgot I was writing this fic! A long haul flight reminded me and here is the next (longer than intended) chapter.

* * *

Luke came to slowly. He blinked his eyes in an effort to focus but the howling wind and snow made his brain feel static and fuzzy. A deep throbbing in his head made him dizzy and when he lifted his hand up to this face he realised it was wet with blood. He tried not to panic, knowing head wounds bled a lot but it was hard not to succumb to the fear as he looked out into the surrounding darkness. The truck was on its side, with the drivers door on the top with a fallen branch against it making it impossible to open. The windshield was broken and snow was floating in but Luke was too big to crawl through that gap and would cut himself to ribbons if he tried. he reached up to roll down the drivers side window but a sharp pain across his shoulder made him wince and pull his arm back. He took a few deep breaths to control the stabbing pain then leaned back to aim his feet at the window instead.

He kicked two or three times before the window smashed, raining shattered glass down on him. Luke covered his face with his arms and screwed his eyes tightly shut. slowly be moved again to brush the glass off himself then started to climb out of the truck. In the distance he could hear voices and he thought he could make out some moving lights. If only he could get out of the truck maybe he could flag someone down. His left arm was aching and he could barely move it so all attempts to climb out proved unsuccessful. Luke thought of calling out, but instead settled for blaring the horn and flashing the lights.

Ollie and Harry raced through the snow and reached the truck in no time. The blaring horn and flashing lights were a sure sign that who ever as in there was still alive. Olle jumped off the horse and started to climb up the underside of the truck.

"Hey! You ok in there?"

Luke looked up at the young man who was staring down at him through the broken window. "Yeah, I think my shoulder is dislocated, I can't seem to pull myself out."

"Ok, hold tight. we'll get you out in a jiffy!" Ollie turned back to gesture at Harry. "Toss me the rope will ya?" He lowered one end of the rope down to Luke. "Tie this around yourself. we'll haul you out."

By the time Tom arrived in the truck, Luke was sitting next to his own truck cradling his left arm against his chest. Ollie was kneeling in front of him, dabbing the wound on his forehead with some gauze as Harry was walking around the truck checking for damage or other passengers.

"No one else was in the truck?"

"No, just me."

"Do you know what happened?"

"Hit some black ice, spun out, clipped the guardrail and flipped over a few times down the ridge."

"You're lucky you didn't go further." Harry spoke as he squatted next to them.

"Huh?"

"The truck is about 5 feet from a cliff edge, if you kept flipping you would have dropped over that cliff, 20 ft into the ravine below."

"Lucky me."

"Hey guys," Tom called out as he approached. "All ok here?"

"Peachy," Luke muttered.

"Looks like we have a dislocated shoulder and a head wound, but nothing worth crying about."

"Easy for you to say." Luke winced as they helped him to his feet and led him over to the truck Tom had left running by the side of the road.

"We'll see you back at the inn," Ollie called as he slammed the door shut and slapped the roof.

It wasn't until right that moment that Luke realised these were staff members from the Inn and they were taking him right back there now. He quickly ran through his other options but realised there were none and resigned himself to going back to the inn. Tom drove slowly but every single jostle sent a shiver of pain shooting out from his shoulder, to his fingertips and across his back. The wound on his head was seeping again but Luke didn't have the energy even to brush it away. As they turned up the driveway He tried to focus but was finding it increasingly difficult to stay awake. Tom drove around to the back and parked near the employee entrance.

"Here we are, lets get you inside." Luke opened the door but was struggling to get out when Tom hurried around the truck and helped. He led Luke over to the door and ushered him in to a large staff room. Tom put him onto a tattered but comfortable couch and covered him with a checkered blanket. "I'll be right back."

Luke felt his eyes succumb to the tiredness and closed them over for a second but when he opened them a woman was standing over him a concerned look on her face.

"Hey there mister, you need to stay awake," she slapped his cheeks with the back of her hands but his eyes were heavier than normal and slid over again.

The next time he opened them Tom was standing over him, pulling at his shoulders to make him sit up and the sharp pain that shot through him was enough to make his eyes open wide in shock. Luke looked around him and saw a small crowd standing in front of the couch, each with a look on their face of a varying degree of concern.

"What happened… where am I?"

"Relax." Tom leaned forward. "You crashed your truck, you're at the Dragonfly Inn."

"His shoulder is dislocated. We need to put it back in…"

"What the hell do we know about putting in dislocated shoulders?"

"I've watched it on ER a million times."

"ER?"

"We can't leave it out, its cutting off blood to his arm."

"Is it?"

"Probably…"

Ollie arrived with a first aid book and flipped through it to the page he was looking for. "Here Ms Lorelai, I found the book."

Lorelai took the book and read the instructions. "Okay, we can do this… Tom get him flat on his back." Tom guided Luke back onto the couch. "Move his arm so its down flat, then turn it to a 90 degree angle from his body." She stepped closer and explained the instructions to Tom then guided him as he pulled Luke's shoulder back into place. Everyone in the room groaned when his shoulder made a loud "clunk" as it slid back into place, except for Luke. Luke yelled out in agony then succumbed once more to the darkness.

The next time he woke up, only one person was in the room. Lorelai was sitting on a stool next to the couch and was focused on cleaning the wound on his head. His arm was strapped to his chest but the pain was reduced to a dull ache. He wiggled his fingers and was pleased to see them respond and with only a little niggling pain.

"How long have I been out?"

"Only 5 minutes or so. I'm glad you woke up, as I was going to wake you as soon as I had your head wound cleaned up."

"How bad is it?"

"Just a small cut, it looks worse than it is because of the blood."

"A lot of blood?"

Lorelai smiled at the worried look on his face. "Not any more." She continued to clean it up, then rummaged through the first aid box for the pack of butterfly stitches. "Okay, this might sting a little." She pinched the wound closed then carefully placed three stitches over the wound. "There, all good."

"Thanks."

"All part of the hospitality." Lorelai said as she put the equipment away. Luke looked away, all too aware of the crimson blush that covered his cheeks. He tried to sit up but she pushed him back down onto the couch. "You are on strict bed rest, but without the sleeping."

"What?"

"You had a head wound, you lost consciousness and you could have a concussion. You need to stay awake and be monitored for 24 hours."

"I'm fine, seriously."

"Yeah, ok mister, well regardless, I could do without the kind advertisement your death would bring to my Inn."

"So…I need to lie here for 24 hours?"

"Yep." Lorelai stood up and went to the door. she pushed it open and called out to someone then returned to sit on the stool again. "Do you have a headache?"

"Yeah, I do," he admitted reluctantly.

"Do you know todays date?"

"Um…the 24th?"

"Correct…Whats your name?"

"My name? Are you testing my memory?"

"No, but I'd rather not call you 'Buttinski' all night."

"Luke, Duke Danes."

"Hi Luke," she said and she smiled sweetly. Behind her, the door opened and another woman walked in carrying a wide tray. Luke's instinct was to sit up, help her, but Lorelai pushed him back down. "Thanks Sookie."

"Oh you're alive!" She squealed as she put the tray on a small table and smiled at Luke with a wide genuine smile.

"Um yeah… was there a chance I wouldn't be?"

"Don't mind Sookie, she is just glad to see you." Lorelai grabbed a glass of water and a bottle of pain pills off the tray. "Here take this." She dropped two pills into Luke's hand and handed him the glass of water. She helped him sit up to drink and took the glass off him when he was done. "And try to eat some of this…" Lorelai said and she passed him a bowl of fruit.

"Can I sit up?" He looked at her with a sideways glance and she nodded. He pulled himself up with a little help from both Lorelai and Sookie and Lorelai put the bowl of fruit on his lap.

"How are you feeling?" Sookie asked as she rubbed his good shoulder.

"A little woozy…"

"And your shoulder?"

"Better than it was a little while ago."

"Well eat up and drink some water." Sookie turned to Lorelai and gripped her shoulder. "I just spoke with Ms Gordon about tomorrow."

"Oh, is everything set?"

"A simple ceremony with the friends and family who have made it today."

"Great, and you have the ingredients you need to cater?"

"Yeah, we went over a menu for a buffet so we're all set."

"Great, thanks Sook!" she covered her friends hand and smiled. "Another crisis diverted." Sookie chuckled then turned and left as Lorelai turned back to Luke who was slowly eating through his bowl of fruit.

"So you solved the crisis?"

"Postponed it more like." Lorelai turned on the stool to face him again and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "Feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Lorelai chuckled. "Despite the concussion, and the dislocated shoulder…?"

"Yeah, despite those minor inconveniences."

"Do you remember what happened?"

Luke rubbed his face with one hand and sighed. "Black ice… my truck spun out."

"You shouldn't drive angry."

Luke glanced over at her. "About that…"

"Forget it."

"I need to apologize for how I acted."

"Seriously, forget it."

"No, I was an ass. I was impatient and rude and despite what you may think of me, I'm not usually like that."

"So today was an exception in your otherwise unblemished record?"

"Something like that." He offered her a half smile and she returned it.

"So…Luke Danes…She said as she moved off the stool and sat next to him. "Tell me about yourself."

"Huh?" he looked at her and watched as she picked a slice of kiwi out of the bowl on his lap.

"You need to stay awake, I need to keep asking you questions."

"Because of the concussion?"

"Because of the concussion." She took a grape this time. "So… tell me about yourself."

"I just moved to Stars Hollow."

"Oh? From where?"

"A small town just north of Boston." He started eating again. "My family used to live in Stars Hollow though, so I decided to come back."

"Why now?"

"My parents just passed, I needed a change of scenery."

"Oh I'm sorry." She rested her hand on his free forearm and squeezed it gently.

"Thank you," he said softly and watched as her fingers trailed off his skin as she moved her hand again. "I bought Willis Hardware store."

"You're going to run a hardware store?"

"No, I converted it into a diner."

"Oh! You're going to run a diner!" She said this time her voice excited.

"I hope so."

"Is that what you were doing before?"

"No, before I was…" he hesitated and glanced over at her.

"What? What were you doing before?"

"Nothing… I was a handyman, I looked after my father. He was ill for quite some time."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I did it again."

"Thats alright."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and Luke fought the urge to let his eyes roam over her crossed legs. Her skirt was twisted and showed more leg than he remembered from earlier. Slowly he let his eyes close over and focused on his breathing.

"Hey now mister," she jabbed him lightly in the ribs as she spoke. "You need to stay with me."

"Seriously, I'm fine, you do not need to sit here with me."

"You've taken a nasty bang to the head. You lost consciousness and you have a headache and are woozy." She moved his head to take a look at the wound there and inadvertently leaned over him to see, and Luke screwed his eyes shut as he realised he was staring right at her breasts. "If you fall asleep, you could go into a coma or something."

"Okay, okay, I'll stay awake. But you don't need to wait with me."

"The minute I walk out that door you will be asleep. I can see it in your eyes." She moved his chin to make him look at her and intently studied his eyes. Lorelai was a little shocked to see how blue they were. Deep rich pools of blue that shimmered under her gaze. She also became acutely aware of her hand on his face, her shoulder leaning on his, her thigh against his and immediately pulled back. She stood up and walked over to the tv to grab the remote then rejoined him on the couch, though not as close. "We can watch tv if you don't want to talk, but you will be staying awake."

Luke nodded and focused on the fruit he was supposed to be eating. Lorelai scanned through the tv channels and settled on an old black and white Christmas movie. Luke really didn't care what was on the TV as long as it was enough to stop her from manhandling him and asking him personal questions. But then to his horror the characters on screen started to dance and sing. He glanced over at Lorelai who was watching with a wide grin and he could just about hear the faint humming of her voice in time to the music on tv.

"Don't you love how in the old movies everything seemed so simple." She reached over for a grape and popped it into her mouth. "I mean these guys just met like 2 days ago and now they are waltzing on an ice rink… and he's about to propose." She shook her head with a chuckle. "They haven't even kissed yet!"

"Maybe getting a divorce was also simpler," he muttered and received a jab in the ribs for it.

"In two days he has professed his love for her, bought her a ring, taken her on their second date and has now proposed."

"Madness."

"You don't believe in love at first sight?"

Luke chuckled. "Not like they show in the movies."

"Ah, so you do believe in it in some way?"

"No! I'm just saying, these movies cram a full blown relationship into 24 hours and propose before they've even kissed." Luke scoffed. He looked at the TV to see the two characters doing that cheek to cheek hug. "Like what even is that?"

"They're hugging!" Lorelai laughed.

"Have you ever hugged a man like that?" Luke nodded at the tv. "It looks like her neck is breaking!" Lorelai laughed. "If he hugs her any tighter, he's likely to end up hugging a corpse."

"Stop…its romantic!"

"Its chiropractic."

"Okay, okay…" she held her hands up and cast him a sideways glance. "You're not a romance guy."

"Hey, thats not fair, thats not what I was saying."

"So you are a romance guy?"

Luke shrugged and immediatly winced from the pain in his shoulder. "I'm an idiot guy," he mumbled and he gripped his shoulder.

"Let me get you some ice." Lorelai got up and Luke watched her hurry out of the room. As the door closed behind her, he resettled himself on the couch and reached up to fix his ever present baseball cap, only to find it was gone. He looked around to see if it was nearby but it was no where to be found. Lorelai came back in with an ice pack, she perched on the other side of the couch and gently pressed it to his shoulder. "Is that ok?"

"Yeah, thanks." He held the pack in place and looked back at the tv. "You missed the wedding scene."

Lorelai chuckled and moved back to her spot on the couch. She kicked off her shoes and curled her feet beneath herself. "There's another movie on after this and I bet they get married even quicker and after even less contact."

"You like movies huh?"

"Yeah." She snagged a grape from the bowl on his lap. "All of them."

"All of them?"

"I've never met a movie I didn't like."

Luke looked at her with a slight frown. He wasn't sure if she was mocking him or being serious. He focused back on the tv as another movie started. Lorelai settled deeper into the couch to watch and Luke tried to focus on what was going on. He watched the old style credits which seemed to last forever. He tried to read the names, to stay focused on the screen but his eyes were proving difficult to keep open. Slowly they slid down and his head rested back against the couch as the soft music lulled him into sleep.

"Hey," Lorelai poked him and squeezed his arm. "Wake up buddy." She turned a little on the couch to face him more and rested her arm across the back of it.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." Luke forced his eyes wide open and sat up a little straighter.

Lorelai reached a hand out to his forehead and felt for a temperature. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted."

"Any pain?"

"Not really…my shoulder aches a little and I have a headache but considering what could have happened, I feel fine."

Lorelai smiled. "Well thats good to hear. But you really need to stay awake."

"I know, I'm up now."

"As movies won't work… we're back to talking."

"Talking. Great." Luke shuffled on his seat again.

"So Luke Danes, who just moved to Stars Hollow to open a diner… are you married?"

"Married?" Luke glanced over. "No."

"Girlfriend?"

"No."

"Gay?"

"No."

"Kids?"

"No." Luke smiled and looked over at her. "How about you?"

"I have a kid."

"You do?" He looked around as if he expected to see a baby in a crib.

"She's with her grandparents tonight."

"On Christmas eve?"

"She was supposed to drive over this afternoon but the road was closed before she could make it."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that." There was a pause. "Wait… drive? What age is she?"

Lorelai chuckled. "She's 17."

"17?" Luke looked at her without disguising his interest.

"I started young… got a head start."

"So, you're married," Luke said as he settled back into the couch and rested his head back again.

"No, not married." Lorelai waited for the judgmental look from him but he didn't offer her one.

Before either could speak again the door opened and Sookie walked in. She was carrying a tray and hurried over to the couch and put it down on the coffee table in front of them. "The kitchen is closed." she said as she stood up straight and brushed down the front of her apron. "I made you a couple of toasted cheese sandwiches, and a fruit smoothy."

"Thanks Sookie," Lorelai said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she took the ice pack from his shoulder when she noticed all the ice had melted.

"Much better now, thank you. Just tired."

"But you're not allowed to sleep."

"So I hear," he said with a glance at Lorelai.

"What better night to stay up though!" Lorelai said with a chuckle. "We might get to see the man in red!"

Sookie smiled. "Do you guys need anything else?"

"No thanks Sookie. Get to bed. We've an early start tomorrow."

Sookie waved at them with a smile. "Goodnight. And Happy Christmas!" She closed the door softly behind her and Luke and Lorelai watched the tv for a little while in silence.

"If you need to get to bed, for your early start, I'm fine here."

"No, and we've been over this already." She leaned over to grab the plate of sandwiches. She held it up in front of him and he took a cheese sandwich. She took one herself and balanced the plate on her knee. "What has you out on a night like this?"

"I was on my way back from Bear creek lake."

"You were up there? In this cold?"

"Well it wasn't this cold when I went up." He finished off the sandwich and reached for another one. "The diner is just about refurbished and Tom, the contractor working on it, forbid me from interfering, so I took off for a week. Went to a cabin up there and tried to make it back before the storm landed."

"So you spent a week in a cabin, alone, with no tv?"

"I never said there was no tv."

"I've been to bear creek lake cabins… there was no TV."

Luke chuckled. "Well there wasn't a tv."

"Ugh…a whole week?" she shuddered and tightened her shoulders closer to her ears.

"A little over a week actually." Luke leaned forward and lifted a smoothy. He handed it to Lorelai then took the other and sat back again. "I read, fished, slept. It was very relaxing actually."

"Until the drive home," Lorelai added.

"Until the drive home."

"Well now you have to try to relax all over again, this time without the fishing, and with some TV."

"And without the sleeping."

"Yep. No sleeping until tomorrow." Lorelai sipped her drink and placed it back on the table. "I'm hoping it will be clear enough tomorrow for the doc to call round."

"If its clear tomorrow I can just go back to Stars Hollow."

"How exactly were you planning on making it there?

"My truck…" she watched the realisation that his truck was crashed cross over his face.

"Yeah your truck is toast."

"Oh yeah…"

"You're sure you're ok?" Lorelai placed the back of her fingers against his forehead again.

"I'm fine, really."

"Okay, but no sleeping."

"What movie is on next?" Luke asked as he nodded at the tv, hoping to take her attention away from him and onto, well anything really he realised.

"Well," Lorelai sat cross legged on the couch and pick up the remote. "Its a wonderful life is just starting, or Miracle on 34th is about half way through."

"All Christmas movies?"

"Its Christmas eve. What did you expect?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"You forgot its Christmas eve?" Lorelai lifted her hand again to feel his forehead but Luke dodged out of her reach and grabbed her hand.

"I forgot because I've been alone in a cabin all week. Not because I have amnesia, or a concussion."

Lorelai stared at him then looked down to where his hand was still gripping hers. She looked back up to him and he glanced at their connected hands before letting her go and looking back at the TV.

"How about Charlie Browns Christmas?" Lorelai said with a smile, as she flicked through the channels. "Or Nightmare before Christmas. Oh no way…!" She screeched as she slapped her hands on the sofa cushion. "Black Christmas. We're watching this." She looked over at him with pure delight at her find but he just looked confused. "1974, Black Christmas, directed by Bob Clark. Often thought to the the first slasher movie."

"Slasher?"

"It's a Christmas horror."

"A Christmas horror?"

"All these girls are in their sorority house."

"Of course they are…"

"And its Christmas break so everyone is leaving but instead of actually going home, they are being killed off, one by one by some maniac."

"Sounds festive."

"See its perfect, no one misses them, because everyone thinks they are gone home."

"Thats how I'd do it." Luke spoke softly, and slowly Lorelai turned her head towards him but he kept his eyes facing forward.

They watched the movie quietly and Lorelai clutched a cushion against her chest. She winced during all the kills and laughed her tension away. Luke watched her watching the movie. How her eyes were wide and she took every drop of entertainment it offered. She clutched the cushion as if it would offer her protection and leaned forward as the main protagonist hid from her Christmas stalker. At the peak of tension in the movie, Lorelai leaned towards him, pressing her shoulder against his and held the cushion up to her face so only her eyes could peer over the edge. The music in the movie was loud but not loud enough to drown out Lorelai's shriek. Finally as the credits rolled, Lorelai sat up away from him and put the cushion back on the couch.

"Whew… that was a great movie. Been ages since I saw it."

"You've seen that before?"

"Yeah, a few times."

"So why were you so scared if you knew what was going to happen?"

"Its about letting go and succumbing to the movie." She turned to face him. "If you start trying to work it out and remember what you've already seen, then you're missing the most important part of watching a movie."

"Whats that?"

"The journey to another world."

"A world where a madman is chasing young girls around a sorority house on Christmas eve?"

Lorelai chuckled and shrugged. "So…how is your head?"

"I've got a headache. I think its from lack of sleep," he added with a frown.

"Well I'm afraid you have to wait a few more hours to catch up on your sleep."

"I know, I know."

"So you're not a movie guy…"

"I like movies. Clearly not as much as you though."

"You said earlier you spent the time at your cabin reading. You're a book guy?"

"I like to read."

"Crime? Political thrillers?"

"Biographies mainly but I also like the old style western books."

"Yes, westerns, of course."

"What does that mean?" He glanced at her with a curious frown.

"Nothing," Lorelai said with a smile. "Just that I could have guessed westerns." Luke looked away, not knowing how to take that comment. "No, I don't mean anything bad, sorry. Its just that you have a…"

"A what?"

"A certain quality."

"A quality."

Lorelai blushed and Luke shuffled in his seat to face her a little more. "A quality?"

"Oh please, you know what I'm talking about."

"No, I really don't!" He was truly baffled and while he didn't take offense from her comment, he was incredibly curious to know what she meant.

"What ever." Lorelai stood up and went over to the window. Luke followed her with his eyes and watched as she pulled the curtain back. "Its started snowing again."

"Heavy?"

"Yeah, its really coming down."

"There go my chances of getting home tomorrow," Luke said with a sigh as he let his head fall back against the couch.

"Eager to leave?" she looked over her shoulder at him. Luke looked over at her without lifting his head, but she turned back before he spoke.

"Not particularly," he whispered, unsure if she heard. Unsure if he wanted her to hear.

Lorelai came back to the couch and fell onto the cushions with a whumpf. "Another movie?"

"Oh please no."

"I've got a pack of cards."

"Thats more like it."

Lorelai jumped up and grabbed the cards from the shelf behind the door, then came back to where he was sitting. She dragged the coffee table closer to him then knelt on the floor on the other side. "So… poker? Blackjack? Gin?"

"I'd love a gin."

Lorelai laughed as she shuffled the cards. "No alcohol for you."

"Texas hold 'em." Luke held his hand out for the cards and shuffled them as best he could with his hurt arm. Frustrated by the confinement of his sling he pulled it off and tossed it aside.

"Hey!"

"Its fine, its just while we play, I'm not moving it much anyway." He dealt out the cards and picked up his hand. "How many do you need?"

"How many can I have?"

"Up to 4."

"Then give me 4." Lorelai handed him the cards she wanted to discard and Luke dealt her more out.

"I'll take two."

They played for a few hours, passing matchsticks back and forth for money until all matchsticks were in front of Luke.

"Okay, okay… I give up."

"Give up? You lost." Luke gathered all the cards and shuffled them again. Lorelai was sitting forward, her arms on the table as she leaned forward enough to collect all the matches. Luke looked up and his eyes went to her chest where her blouse was low cut enough to give him a tantalizing view of her cleavage. Luke immediately looked away but not before she caught him looking. Lorelai smiled at the blush that crept up his cheeks, and she carefully stood away from the table, brushing the front of her clothes down as she rounded the table to sit back on the couch.

"Sun is almost up."

"Are you saying I can go to sleep?"

"Not yet. I'll call the doctor at 7. If he can't make it up, then he can at least tell us what to do."

Luke glanced at his watch. it was twenty to seven now. Twenty minutes. He could last that long. He could. He shook his head and realised she was talking to him. "Huh?"

"I asked how you were feeling?"

"Exhausted."

"Almost there. Do you want a coffee?"

"No thanks, I don't drink coffee."

"Oh my god… how do you cope day to day without caffeine?"

"Quite well."

"Monster!" Lorelai stage whispered in horror. "Well I need a coffee. So if I go into the kitchen to make a cup of joe, do you promise not to fall asleep."

"I promise."

Lorelai stood and hurried out of the room and Luke watched her go. The minute she was gone he let his head roll back and his eyes close over and before he knew it, she was standing in front of him, patting his good shoulder.

"Hey!" she put her coffee onto the table and sat next to him. "You promised."

"I wasn't asleep. I just rested my head and then…"

"And then you fell asleep."

Luke sat up and dry washed his face. "Sorry, I didn't think I would fall asleep."

Lorelai sat back next to him. "No harm done. How do you feel?"

"You have got to stop asking me that," he said with a chuckle. "I'm tired. My shoulder aches a little and I've got a headache but I really do feel fine."

Lorelai smiled softly at him. "Look, I'll go call the doctor now. And see if we can get you some nap time."

"Thanks."

Lorelai left the room again and this time rather than risk the chance of falling back asleep, Luke stood up and walked over to the window. He pulled the curtain aside and watched the heavy snowfall. There was no way the doc was going to make it out to the inn. But there was equally no chance he was going to be able to make it home. He rested his forehead against the cold glass and closed his eyes over again.

"You're not asleep over there are you?"

"No," he said without moving.

"Well the bad news is Doc Shelton cannot make it out until the roads are opened again. But the good news is he told me what to look for and said if I don't find it, you can get some rest."

"Oh?" Luke stood and turned around to face her.

"Come over here, sit down," she said as she sat on the coffee table and patted the sofa in front of her. Luke walked over, and sat where she instructed and faced her. "Look straight ahead." She lifted her finger up between them. "Follow my finger with your eyes." She moved her finger back and forth across the front of his face and he tracked it easily. "Any pain or discomfort?"

"No."

"Okay, then he asked me to look into your eyes with a light." Lorelai pulled a small pen light out from her pocket and checked his eyes again. "Pupils reactive and dilating." she said, and Luke just knew she was quoting some medical show or movie and he couldn't help but smile. "Any nausea?"

"No."

"Headache?"

"Dull."

"Dizzy?"

"No."

"Okay, I think we're good to get you some pillow time."

"Thank god." Luke let his eyes close over and she noticed his body slump a little against the back of the couch.

"Follow me, and I'll get you to a room."

She stood and he followed her out to the reception. She worked on the computer to find a room near the ground floor then turned to the shelf behind her and grabbed a set of keys. "Wait here one sec." Luke leaned against the counter as she disappeared through a swing door behind the reception desk. He felt the little energy he had left seeping out of his every pore and he just could not wait to get his head against a pillow and close his eyes. When she reappeared he stood up straight and tried to focus, lest she make him wait up any longer. She gestured for him to follow and they took the stairs up one flight to a room near the back of the hotel.

"First floor, room 106. The wedding guests that did make it are on another floor and on the other side of the hotel so you should get some quiet time here." She unlocked the door with an old fashioned key and swung it open, then gestured for him to enter before her. The room was tastefully decorated with soft colors and natural woods. The bed was against the window in the centre of the room with a fireplace on one side and a small desk and chair on the other.

"Wow, its really nice."

"I got you this." She held up a tote bag with the hotel logo on it and he took it.

"Whats this?"

"Some supplies I thought you might need." She went over to the fire place and grabbed a remote to turn it on, then fiddled with the settings to get it right then walked over to the bedside table and left the remote there. "You can turn this on and off as you please, but maybe leave it on for a while, to get the chill out of the room."

"Thanks, this is great."

"I'll be in to check on you for a few hours. The doc said I can let you sleep, but you need to be woken every once in a while to be sure you're ok."

"You don't need to do that, I can set an alarm."

"An alarm can't check your eyes for signs of concussion."

"But I-"

"So get sleep, I'll see you around noon."

Luke checked his watch. That was 4 hours away. He looked up at her and she was smiling with tight lips and he knew this was an argument he would lose so he didn't even try.

"Get some sleep."

"I will. Thanks."

Lorelai left and Luke didn't hesitate in sitting heavily onto the bed. He took in a moment to look around the room and let his day wash over him then rather than lying back and just falling asleep he squeezed his eyes shut then stood and stretched. He emptied the tote bag out onto the bed and saw toiletries, a tee shirt and a pack of 3 men's boxer briefs. He frowned. Unusual hotel amenities to be sure but also…how would she know his size? He picked up the pack and examined them closer and saw they were indeed his size. He chuckled a little, too tired to over think this friendly gesture and instead grabbed the toiletries and went into the bathroom. He couldn't resist taking a shower but tried not to linger too long. His eyes were barely open a slit by the time he discarded the towel on the chair and climbed between the sheets. A soft sigh of comfort and contentment pushed past his lips as he succumbed to the sweet release of sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** So I spent the guts of about 12 hours yesterday writing out this fic and I'm nearly finished. Fear not! Will try to get it all posted by the end of next week.

* * *

Lorelai collapsed into her bed leaving a trail of discarded clothes from her door. She had set her alarm for eleven am before getting there, so just succumbed to the sleep her body was craving. But rather than slipping into dreamland her brain went into overdrive. She replayed the evening over and over in her head. His blue eyes being a main character in her memories, she frowned and rolled over onto her side. She tried to get comfy but her brain just kept poking memories before her eyes. His smile. His frown. His laugh. Lorelai rolled over again and tried to change the subject in her brain but no matter what she thought of, Luke somehow managed to appear there. With a sigh she rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes. She looked over at the clock and saw it was ten to eleven and she cursed under her breath. Whatever sleep she had managed to get was not in the slightest bit restful. She kicked the covers off and trudged to the bathroom. The shower had little effect and she took longer to fix her makeup and hair than usual but what looked back at her from the mirror was convincing enough.

Down in the kitchen she found Sookie elbow deep in wedding preparations with cupcakes seeming to cover nearly every flat surface of the kitchen. Lorelai beelined for the coffee machine and poured a generous helping before even uttering a word.

"Hey honey, did you get much sleep?"

"Not enough."

"How is our newest guest?"

"Luke? I chatted with Doc Shelton and he told me what to look out for, and he seemed fine. So I put him in room 106. I've to go up and check on him now though."

"Oh yeah?" Sookie glanced at her with a smile before focusing back on the tray of cupcakes she was frosting.

"To be sure his concussion isn't bad! He could slip into a coma."

"He could, huh?"

"Please Sookie." Lorelai sipped her coffee. "I'm too tired to even argue with you right now."

"I know, its the best time to argue with you!"

"What's on the menu today, other than cupcakes?" Lorelai asked changing the subject.

"I'm making a cupcake wedding cake for our bride and groom." Sookie stood up straight and looked around the room. "I may have gone a little overboard but I got excited, so we may have two cakes!"

"Anything else other than cupcakes?"

Sookie chuckled. "chickpea and tomato tartlets, lamb meatballs with garlic and rosemary yogurt, and I've made up a batch of beef and stout stew to ward off the chill."

"Amazing."

"I chatted with Ms Gordon this morning on the menu and she seemed happy with it."

"This will of course be preceded by a champagne reception as well."

"I mentioned that too."

"Okay, so we're back on track."

"Ceremony is at 4, with dinner planned for 6. All but three of our guests today are from the wedding party, so they have also been invited. Four Actually including Luke."

Lorelai sighed and slumped back against the counter and sipped her coffee. "Thank god."

"So you have enough time to catch some more sleep."

"I may take you up on that offer. But first I better go check on Luke." She drained her coffee and took a moment to let the warmth seep through her body then rinsed out the cup and put it into the dishwasher. She snagged a cupcake on her way out, dodging Sookie's swat at her butt. She stopped off to get a painkiller and a glass of water before making her way upstairs. She unwrapped the cake and ate it on her way up to his room then shoved the case in her pocket and rubbed her mouth as she stood at his door. She raised her hand up and knocked on the door. "House keeping!" she called and awaited a response but none came. She knocked again, this time a little louder but this time also reached for her master key. When no response came again she unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open. The room was dark enough with the blinds all pulled, but the low light from the fire was enough to see his sleeping form in the bed. He was lying on his back, with his good arm strewn across the bed the other rested on his chest, and the sheet was pulled down to his waist.

"Hello? Luke?" she said as she approached the bed. She tried not to look at the wide expanse of his muscled chest, dusted with a covering of hair that taped off below his belly button and below the sheet. She tried not to look. Tried hard. "Luke," she said a little more firmly and a flash of worry shuddered through her. She reached out and put a hand on his chest over his heart, feeling relief at the slow steady beat there and the gentle rise and fall with his breath. "Hey, Luke, wake up." His head rolled towards her voice but he remained asleep. "Luke, I need you to wake up for me." She perched on the edge of the bed and shook his shoulder, then gently tapped the back of her fingers against his cheek. "C'mon, wake up, show me them baby blues."

Slowly his eyes started to flutter open and they darted around the place, as he tried to figure out where he was, and why a woman was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"There you are." she said and smiled.

"Huh?"

"Time to wake up for your check up."

"Huh?" Luke tried to sit up but she pressed him back onto the bed. She reached over and switched on the bedside lamp and he winced away from the bright light.

"Sorry, I need to see your eyes. How are you feeling?"

"Confused." he uttered before thinking and she frowned. "No I don't mean because of a concussion, I mean because of waking up in a strange place, with a strange woman sitting on my bed."

Lorelai chuckled. She fished her pen light out of her pocket and switched it on. "Okay, look straight ahead." Lorelai leand over him to look into his eyes again but with him lying on the bed and her leaning over him it was awkward to do so without nearly lying on top of him.

"Maybe…" he stammered, "Maybe I could just sit up…?"

"Yeah, please." She said as she sat back and helped him into a sitting position. "Okay, now, look straight ahead." Lukes eyes locked with hers and she moved the light back and forth across this. "How is your head?"

"Much better."

"No headache?"

"A dull throb, but nothing unusual."

"I brought up a painkiller for you," she gestured to the bedside table where she left a tablet and a large glass of water. "Please take it if you think you need it, but I think more sleep is best."

"With another wake up call?"

Lorelai nodded. "I'll be back in three hours."

"Three?"

"Well I've got a wedding reception at 4, so I will be needed elsewhere then."

"Its fine, I can set an alarm."

"Yeah, because that will work." she rolled her eyes. "I was banging on that door for a while before I came in."

"You were?"

"You didn't even budge. So I'll be back in three hours."

"Okay." Luke nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off her and she did her damnedest to keep her eyes off his chest. She could tell by the way the blanket had fallen and the towel on the chair by the bed, that he was most definitely naked under that sheet so she remained detached and focused on putting her light away, and then standing off his bed.

She leaned over and switched off the bedside lamp then straightened up and dusted down the front of her outfit as she backed away. "Get some rest. See you later." Luke watched as she turned and hurried out of the room and smiled to himself before falling back against the sheets and going right back to sleep.

Lorelai spent an hour or so with Sookie in the kitchen and another hour in the reception room, making sure everything would be perfect for the ceremony. When she was confident, everything would go well, she went back to her room for a rest. Her eyes were red and sore and her body ached for a moment without movement. She set her alarm and again left a trail of discarded clothes to her bed and this time when her head hit her pillow her eyes closed over, and immediately she was asleep.

Despite the short rest she felt more refreshed than this morning when her alarm woke her. She took a moment to align her thoughts, and prepare the list of tasks she needed to complete during the rest of the day. The first of which was to shower and dress for a wedding. Lorelai felt a bubble of excitement grow around her as she got ready. She left her hair curly and tied it up in a loose half pony tail. She applied only a little makeup, enough to hide her lack of sleep then slipped into a flowing baby blue sleeveless silken dress with a plunging neckline and a dark grey woven shawl. She slipped into her heels and hurried out of her room, realizing she was late to wake Luke.

She took a breath and knocked on the door but again there was no answer. She knocked again as she placed the key in the lock and slowly pushed the door open. "Luke?" she called out. The fire was out, and the blinds were still drawn making the room quite dark. She made her way over to the bed but it wasn't until she stood beside it that she realised it was empty. Fearing he had made a run for it though that awful weather she raced to the window and pulled the blinds open, as if she expected to see him working his way through a snow bank. But then behind her, the bathroom door opened and he stepped through.

"Luke!" She said as she whirled around to face him. He was wearing a low slung towel around his hips, with a knot curled in the middle to fasten it in place. Steam from his shower billowed around him and wet droplets fell from his hair to his chest and raced to the bottom.

"Yeah, who were you expecting?"

"I thought…"

"You thought I escaped?"

"I thought…"

"You're late for my wake up call, I believe I arranged it for 3pm, and its now 3.20pm."

"Sorry, I got delayed." She took a moment to compose herself and stepped back from his bed as he approached. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better thanks. Are you going to flash that light in my eyes again?"

Lorelai nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak when he stopped in front of her. She focused on switching on the light, then looked up to see him watching her intently. "Keep looking straight ahead." She flicked the light back and forth over each eye and watched as they reacted as expected. "No headache?"

"No, I took the painkiller you left for me, and drank all the water. The shower helped too. Great water pressure."

"Thanks. And your shoulder?"

"Still tender." He gripped his sore shoulder with the other hand and rotated it a little, making himself wince. "I'll keep it in the sling for a while more and rest it up."

"Good idea." She struggled to think of what else to say and he smiled at her.

"You're dressed for the wedding?"

"Yes!" she blurted out, louder than she meant. "You are of course invited. All the guests are. Its a family style dinner tonight at the Inn."

"Thanks, but I don't really have clothing to wear to a wedding."

"Oh, don't worry about that, its fine to come as you…are." she looked down at his towel and he smiled at her blush.

"Hmm, I don't think its wedding attire. My clothes are a bit battered from yesterdays excursion. I might need to avail of your laundry service."

"Oh of course!" Lorelai sprung into action and went to the cupboard to fish out the laundry bag. "Pop them in here, I'll take them down there now."

Luke took the bag and dumped his jeans, socks, underwear and tee and shirt into the bag. "Thanks," he said as she took it back off him.

"Let me see what I can do for you until then. Sit tight."

Luke nodded and watched as she turned and hurried out of the room. Lorelai hurried down to the laundry room and dropped off his stuff with another load writing his name and room number on the tag she ripped off the registration leaflet. Then she went to the storage for clothing that was never collected and found him some grey trousers and a plain blue shirt that she was sure would fit him. She topped it off with a pair of black socks then folded them and put his tag on top and called one of the bell boys to deliver it to his room.

Luke hurried to the door with a smile on his face that faltered when he saw a young man standing there with a change of clothes.

"Ms Gilmore asked me to deliver these to you. She said to say the ceremony started at 4, and dinner is served at 6."

"Thanks."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** : Bonus weekend Chapter!

* * *

"Wow, you look amazing!" Sookie said as Lorelai walked into the kitchen a slight spring in her step as she hurried over to the coffee machine.

"Thanks. So do you!" Sookie had changed into a long black, pink and white dress with an empire waist and a white shawl, and she twirled in front of Lorelai for effect.

"Did you wake up sleeping beauty?"

"I went to wake him but he was already up and showered."

"How is he doing?"

"I think he's fine. It would be best when Doc Shelton can check him out but there are no major alarms for trauma. From what I can tell, with my 15+ years of medical tv show viewing."

"I'm sure he is fine, and all the better for you looking after him."

"The cake Sookie," Lorelai said, changing the subject abruptly. "Its amazing."

Sookie turned to admire the 5 tiered cupcake wedding cake she had made complete with bride and groom toppers. She had made marble colored frosting and arranged the cupcakes in a flowing spectrum from top to bottom. "It is pretty good huh."

"You really outdid yourself." Lorelai came over to hug her friend. "It almost seems a shame to break it up."

"I know!"

"Okay," Lorelai drained her coffee, took a breath and put her hands on her hips. "Time to get out there and kick this thing off."

"I'll keep setting up the dining room to be sure everything is ready for dinner. I'll see you out there soon."

Lorelai busied herself greeting guests and seating them in the reception room then helped the bride with final touches before taking her place at the back of the room to watch it all play out. The few friends and family that did make it seemed pleased and excited with the intimate setting, which was of course enhanced by the copious amounts of champagne that had been shared before the ceremony. One of the waiters was at the side of the room playing a soft melody on the guitar and another was collecting empty glasses from seated guests.

"So, which side is it for people who got lost in the slow, crashed their truck and had to get a lift back to the inn. Bride or Groom?"

Lorelai turned to see Luke standing beside her a crooked smile on his lips. She was right. Those clothes fit him perfectly, if a little snug, but Lorelai looked him up and down and decided, no, they fit perfectly. She noticed he had ditched the sling but he hand rested in his pocket so she figured she'd let it slide for now.

"Hmm I guess you should sit on the grooms side."

"With the other guys who got lost in the snow?"

"The bride has more family that made it, you can help me even it out a bit."

Luke smiled. "The place looks amazing." he said with a gesture to the reception room which had been decorated with white and silver ribbons and balloons.

"Thanks. Its not quite where I hoped it would be, but it looks pretty good."

"Pretty good?" Luke scoffed. "Its fantastic. With little resources and no notice, frankly I'm very impressed." Lorelai blushed under his compliments and scrutiny and she looked away. "Anyway, it looks like its about to start, I better go sit."

Lorelai nodded and watched as he wandered down the centre aisle and took a seat three chairs in on an empty row at the back. When the guitar stopped playing and then started the wedding march everyone stood up and faced the rear of the room to watch the bride make her entrance. Lorelai stepped aside to give her the full entrance and only came back into view when she was half way down the aisle. When she reached the top, the minister gestured for everyone to sit down and Luke did so with a glance over his shoulder. When he spotted Lorelai still standing in the arch, he gestured at her to join him. With only a seconds hesitation she nodded and went over to him. She sat next to him and smiled then turned her focus back to the couple at the top of the room.

The ceremony was simple and filled with laughs. The grooms uncle was the minister and knew more than enough embarrassing stories to keep everyone engaged but clearly really loved the couple. He asked the congregation to share thoughtful compliments and everyone who knew the couple shared a story or a memory. By the end of the ceremony everyone had laughed and cried and cheered. Luke glanced over at Lorelai as she carefully dabbed her eyes with a watery smile and nudged her. Embarrassed she glanced back at him but looked away just as quick.

"Lovely ceremony," he whispered. Lorelai nodded. She glanced at her watch and realised it was time for her to get the next stage ready.

"I better go make sure the set up is goin ok." She slid to the outer chair then paused and turned back to him. "See you in there?"

Luke smiled and nodded. Lorelai dipped her head then hurried out of the room before the bride and groom procession took place. Out in the dining room she found Sookie setting everything up and quickly dove in to help.

"You ok?" Sookie asked, when she spotted Lorelai's watery eyes.

"Oh weddings," she waved her hands in front of her own eyes. "They get me every time."

Sookie smiled and nudged her friend. "Me too. I had to avoid that ceremony or I'd be unable to see what I needed to set up in here.

Lorelai smiled back and went into the kitchen to arrange the waiters into a meeting line, armed with wine and champagne for the guests coming in to the dining room. She stood back and admired it all happening from a distance then as Luke entered her focus trained in on him and she followed him as he made his way through the room. He had taken a glass of champagne but she guessed it was for something to do with his hands, rather than the desire for a drink. There was one table marked with guests names and everything else had been labelled for friends and family and Luke quickly took a seat by the window. He wondered who the other stragglers would be and looked around the room to see if he could spot anyone who was not mingling. He spotted Lorelai almost immediatly. She stood by the kitchen door, directing wait staff as they poured in and out of the room. The dress she wore clung to her curves and Luke had to tear his eyes away lest he be caught staring.

"Hi, is this the intruders table?"

Luke looked up to see an elderly couple standing to his side. "Yeah, it is." He stood up and shook their hands then waited for the lady to sit before taking his seat again. "Luke Danes."

"I'm Brendan McQuaid, and this is my wife Elsie."

"You got stuck here with the snow?"

"Well we had actually booked in for a holiday, we come here every year."

"Oh, from where?"

"New York," Brendan said quickly as if he expected this question. "This is a breakaway from all the hustle and bustle of the city."

"It sure is." Luke sipped his champagne and looked around wondering if there were anyone else to join them. It was a table set for 5 so he guessed one more at least.

"What brings you here?"

"I crashed my truck."

"Oh, that was you?" Elsie gasped and her hand flew to her chest.

"Hmm?"

"We were in the drawing room yesterday when the staff came running in talking about your crashed truck." Brendan offered as a way of explanation.

"Oh I see. Well yep. That was me. My own fault. Shouldn't have been out in that weather."

"Lorelai looked after you I see."

"Yeah, she has been wonderful." Without thought, his eyes sought her out but she was not in the room.

"She is a wonderful host."

Before they could continue their conversation another stranger came to the table. "Hi, I think I'm supposed to sit with you."

Luke turned and saw a tall young woman wearing a business suit, clutch the back of the chair next to him. "Intruders table. For non friends or family."

"Yep, this is me so." She pulled out her the chair then paused and gestured to it. "Is anyone sitting here?"

"No, no it's free." Luke jumped up and helped her pull it out as best he could with one arm.

"I'm Lucy McCormack."

"I'm Brendan McQuaid, and this is my wife Elsie." Brendan said in what Luke realized was a well rehearsed line of introduction.

"Luke Danes."

Luke guessed she was in her early thirties. She was slim and fit from an obvious gym routine. Her dirty blond hair cascaded around her shoulders in wavy sculpted curls that he knew she had planned meticulously. Her make up was barely noticeable and her hands were neatly manicured. She wore a fitting business outfit, a short black skirt, white blouse and a black blazer and a pair of severe black heels that made her height almost equal his own.

"So, of all the gin joints in all the world, we ended up stuck here." Luke glanced over and wondered if she was making a derisive comment about the inn. For some strange reason he felt strongly protective of this place he had never been to before and was ready to refute any bad remarks.

"You're not here by design I take it?" he asked.

"Well I meant to come here, I just didn't mean to stay." She sipped her champagne. "I had a business meeting here yesterday morning, but by the time it was over, it was too late to leave."

"So you got stuck."

"Well if I had to get stuck somewhere," Brendan said with a chuckle. "This would be top of my list."

"Really?" Lucy scoffed. "Not a tropical island? Dubai? Venice?"

"No way!" Brendan said his chuckle turning into a belly laugh. "Imagine that Elsie, me and you in Dubai!" Elsie laughed too and shook her head. Luke couldn't help but smile and glanced over at Lucy who smiled too.

"I guess they like it here." she said almost conspiratorially as if it was both of them against the laughing couple.

"Whats not to like," Luke replied as he sipped his champagne.

"You too?"

"I've never been here before, but it is quite stunning."

"Stunning… if you mean I'll be stunned if the power lasts throughout the night then yeah."

Luke resisted rolling his eyes and instead just looked away. He spotted Lorelai making her way through the room, chatting idly with guests and ensuring everyone was seated comfortably and had everything they needed.

She had spotted him sitting with the elderly couple and then watched his reaction as Lucy joined them. It was then that she started to work the room and made her way over slowly. Talking briefly with the bride and groom at the top table she made sure they were satisfied with how everything was going so far then continued her journey around the room. She approached Luke's table from the side behind Brendan, and stood between him and his wife.

"And how is everything here?"

"Wonderful Lorelai!" Elsie gushed, clasping Lorelai's hand and holding it tightly between both of hers. "I love the decorations and that ceremony was beautiful."

"Thank you Elsie. Does everyone have everything they need? More champagne? Wine? Or…perhaps a beer?" she said that last part to Luke who had barely touched his drink. He smiled and nodded almost imperceptibly and Lorelai nodded back. "Dinner is buffet style tonight, and will be served shortly. The menu is on the card in the centre, but please don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything."

"Could I get a glass of red please?" Lucy asked. "Malbec if you have it."

"Certainly. I'll have one of the waiters bring it right out." Lorelai stood up straighter and Elsie released her hand. "There's plenty to go round, so please help yourself to the food."

She talked to two more tables before disappearing into the kitchen andLuke watched her progress the whole time. Brendan noticed his interest and nudged his wife but she had already noticed her herself. they smiled to each other. Brendan leaned over and kissed his wife then turned back to the table.

"So Luke, what do you do?"

"I um…" he wasn't sure about spilling his life story out to these strangers. Despite telling Lorelai almost everything there was to tell the night before, he wasn't usually one to share too much, hell anything. "I run a diner in a small town not far from here."

"Oh a diner!" Elsie exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"How quaint." Lucy added, though it wasn't excitement that was dripping from her voice.

"Its a small diner, nothing special." Luke shrugged.

"Small town diner. Sounds so idyllic." Brendan said.

"What about you?" Luke said to move the topic away from himself. "What keeps you busy in New York?"

"I'm a tailor, and Elsie here is a seamstress."

"Wait…" Lucy put her champagne down on the table and leaned forward. "McQuid, you're McQuaid from Broadstone Tailoring?"

"Yes," Brendan said with a slight blush. "My fathers business really, but I took it over thirty years ago with my lovely wife."

At that moment a young waiter arrived with a glass of red wine for Lucy and a tall glass of beer for Luke. He put them down silently and disappeared and Luke looked around for Lorelai. She was stood by the kitchen door and lifted his glass up to her in a cheers motion. She nodded and smiled then turned back to directing the waiters.

"Wow, you're clothing is amazing," Lucy said.

"Thank you!" Brendan said earnestly.

"Its nearly impossibly to get an appointment for a fitting there," Lucy said to Luke as if he had been listening in awe like her.

"Huh?"

"This guys company makes the best suits. Rivals most European houses."

"Oh, stop." Brendan brushed the compliment away but he blushed and smiled at his wife. "We've had to cut back on our customers as we got older."

"You could always expand, get more staff and take on more customers." She nudged Luke again. "Hand tailored suits are making a comeback. You guys could make a killing."

"Oh, we've no shortage of customers, but we want to spend more time together, less time working."

"The good lord did not bless us with any kids to carry on the businesses, so we have prioritized other things."

"Seems a shame to let good branding like yours go to waste."

Elsie shrugged and sipped her champagne. "Seems more of a shame to work through what time we have left, when we have more than enough to live as we like." She glanced at Brendan who was watching her lovingly. "We just want to be together. We keep the business open because we love it so, but its no longer a driving force in our lives." Brendan leaned over and kissed his wife's cheek.

Luke smiled and looked at Lucy who looked shocked and confused. "So you intend to just close the business?

"We'll keep going, as long as it doesn't interfere with our retirement. We plan to take more trips."

"To more Inns like this?" Lucy scoffed.

"Oh yeah," Elsie responded enthusiastically not realizing she was bring sarcastic. "There is an amazing inn just outside Wilmington in Pennsylvania. We go there every summer too." She was excited as she spoke about the inn and the activities it offered. Lucy looked bored.

"Wow, sounds like an amazing retirement plan," Luke offered.

"Half retirement plan."

"When we fully retire we'll roll down to Florida with all the other nuts," Brendan said with a chuckle.

Luke smiled but Lucy looked horrified and it only made him smile more.

"And you Lucy? What do you do?" Elsie asked with an engaging smile.

"I'm a lawyer."

"Could have guessed that." Luke muttered, earning him a glare from her.

"I specialize in IP Law. That's intellectual property." She added as she sipped her wine and sat back into her chair. "I work mainly with writers, and artists to be sure they are covered for plagiarism."

"Oh, how interesting," Elsie said though Lucy shrugged away her words.

"I'm thinking of moving into patent law with a joint degree program from Princeton." She waited for the usual "ohhs" and "ahhs" that comment usually received but Brendan and Elsie looked at her blankly and Luke was watching something else across the room. "Anyway, thats me."

"Were you meeting a writer here yesterday?" Elsie asked.

"Yeah one of my clients lives in a cabin on bear creek lake and we meet here from time to time."

"Oh, is it someone I'd know?"

"I doubt it, he writes mainly crime fiction. Tim Shelton?"

"No, I don't know him. I usually only read romance books. Do you know him Brendan?"

"No, not much of a reader me."

"Well his last three books were on the New York times best seller list."

"Oh amazing."

Luke disengaged from the conversation and sat back in his chair. From this vantage point he could watch the room with ease as well as look out at the snowy vista behind him. It really was a beautiful inn and the decoration was so simple and clean but filled with homely, welcoming, comfort. Everyone seemed at ease and the reception was going wonderfully. He watched a line of waiters deliver the food out to the buffet table and uncover large platters of food before stepping behind the table preparing to serve. Lorelai went to the top table and offered table service to everyone there, then turned to the rest of the room and called for attention.

"Dinner is now served, please help yourself."

Before the crowd could get to the buffet, Lorelai gestured to three waiters who were stood waiting for her signal, before they dished out plates for the top table. She stood back and waited til those plates were delivered then ensured their drinks were full enough and retuned her focus to the rest of the room. Brendan and Elsie joined the queue and were followed shortly by Lucy but Luke sat back and watched it all happen around him.

"Not hungry?"

He turned to see Lorelai standing next to him. "I am, but I thought I'd wait for the actual wedding guests to get their fill first."

"Nice gesture, but there is plenty to go around."

"It smells wonderful."

"Let me get you a plate," she offered. "Might be a bit difficult with your injured shoulder."

"No, its fine, I'll manage. I'll just wait for the crowd to die down a little."

"No its no trouble." she went to move but he grasped her wrist and pulled her back.

"Really, its fine, I'll go up there in a moment." he smiled. "I only need one hand to carry a plate."

Lorelai smiled and she stood there a moment longer, his hand loosely grasping her wrist, his finger tips on the inside where she was sure he could feel her pulse hammering away beneath them. "I better get back to it."

"Oh, um, sorry." He let go of her arm and dropped his hand to his lap. Lorelai turned and walked away immediately disappearing into the kitchen. Luke watched her leave then when Brendan and Elsie came back to the table with plates laden with food, Luke realised how hungry he really was and joined the short queue.

Music started playing as the guests ate their dinner, and lowered in volume as the speeches started. The atmosphere in the room was joyous so by the time the tables were cleared and the cake was brought out, everyone cheered and clapped.

"Sookie walked with the two waiters who carried the cake and instructed them to put it on the top table before the bride and groom. They both stood up and loads of family members took out their phones to take pictures from multiple angles. The inn staff used this time to start moving tables aside, collapsing them against the wall and leaving a line of chairs around the room making a large dance floor. Luke stepped back from the revelry and leaned against the archway entrance with what was left of his beer.

When the music kicked off again, this time instead of soft wedding background music it was fast paced country rock music and he decided it was time to take his leave back to his room. But before he could leave, a waiter arrived by his side with a fresh glass of beer and took the near empty one off him, all without a word. Luke looked up and spotted Lorelai watching him with a smile from across the room by the kitchen door. He lifted his glass up at her and smiled back. She nodded in acknowledgement then turned and went into the kitchen.

"How's it all going out there?" Sookie asked as she finished up cleaning and watched Lorelai pour herself a coffee.

"Great. You really pulled it off with that buffet and cake."

"It was something else wasn't it!" Sookie leaned back against the counter and tossed the dishtowel over her shoulder then rested her hands on her hips.

"You should go out there and enjoy it a bit."

"I will, I just want to be sure everything is ready for a late night snack for these guests."

"Oh Sookie, you've already done too much!"

"Nothing major, just a few mini hotdogs and finger sandwiches." She hurried over to the large fridge store. "All ready to go, I just need to cook the dogs in a few hours."

"You are..WONDERFUL!" Lorelai exclaimed as she gathered her friend into a tight hug.

"We make a good team."

"We certainly do."

"How is our latest guest?"

"He seems to be doing fine."

"I saw you have him sitting with Lucy McCormack. Was that wise?"

"I didn't put them sitting there, I just put the table for non family and friends there. Naturally they both ended up there."

"Naturally."

"Brendan and Elsie are there too."

"Hmmm."

"Anyway I better go out and be sure its all going well." Lorelai drained her coffee, realizing only then this was her fifth cup of the day but shrugged it off and returned to the reception. The dance floor was in full use with guests line dancing in large and small groups, while a few others settled in the chairs that lined the room, chatting as best they could amongst the revelry. Lorelai scanned the room as subtly as she could to look for Luke but he was no where to be found. Neither, she realised, was Lucy.

Luke stood before a blazing fire in the drawing room next to the hotel entrance with one hand leaning against the mantlepiece, the other, with his injured shoulder, resting in his pocket. The music could still be heard in this room, but it was dulled enough to make it a more comfortable setting. He near untouched beer was on the mantle by his head and he lifted it to take a drink then replaced it on the mantle again.

"So this is where you're hiding."

Luke smiled and turned expecting to see Lorelai behind him but instead he spotted Lucy making her way across the room, her hips swaying way more than they needed to as she approached.

"Not hiding, just giving the family space to celebrate." He turned back to the fire and was surprised by Lucy's touch as her arm linked loosely through his, low where his hand was in his pocket.

"I know what you mean." She leaned against him but he winced in pain, maybe a little more than he felt, and extracted himself from her grasp.

"Sorry, I dislocated my shoulder, its still quite tender."

"Oh I'm sorry," She looked at his arm as if she expected it to be obviously injured. "Shouldn't you be in a sling?"

"It didn't go with the outfit," he said with a shrug from his other shoulder.

Lucy smiled. "Are you having me on?"

"No. I was in a crash yesterday."

"That was you?"

"Yeah, thats what everyone says. Did they make an announcement or something?"

Lucy chuckled. "Small inn."

"Anyway that was me, I dislocated my shoulder and took a bad bang to my head."

"Oh, how are you feeling?"

"Fine. Lorelai… or the Inn here really looked after me."

Lucy's eyes squinted a little as she watched him blush and he looked away to take another sip of his beer. "Good, to hear."

"Hey guys," Lorelai said from the door way. "Anything I can get for you two?"

"No thanks," Lucy said. "I think we have everything we need here." She looked at Luke who was only watching Lorelai, trying to read her expression, her body language.

She stood by the archway into the room, her hands clasped tightly in front of her and a smile was plastered on her face but didn't reach her eyes.

"Do you need a hand with anything?" Luke asked, stepping forward away from Lucy, towards Lorelai. "Clearing up the ceremony room or the reception area?"

"No, you're very good to ask. I've enough staff on site to make short work of it. Thanks for the offer though." This time when she smiled her eyes sparkled a little and Luke returned the smile.

"Well if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

Lorelai nodded. She smiled at Lucy then turned and walked away.

"They have plenty of staff for that Luke, and you wouldn't be much help with your injury anyway."

"Well I'm going to go to my room. And sleep." he added when he noticed her lean towards him. "Nice meeting you."

He turned on his heel and walked away leaving Lucy watching after him, confused by what had just transpired. She was used to such swift and obvious rejection. She turned back to the fire, spotted his beer, took it from the mantle and returned to the reception room with the others.

Lorelai watched Lucy come back in alone and wondered if Luke was still in the drawing room, though based on the predatory stare Lucy was giving other men in the room, she doubted she would have left him alone. the reception carried on without a hitch and the second round of food before midnight was a huge success. Before the night was over, she found Sookie in the kitchen and grabbed her arm, she took her into the drawing room, handed her a glass of champagne and they both sat on the couch by the fire.

"We did it." They clinked glasses. "We pulled it off."

"It was a wonderful day."

"Your food was amazing."

"It was pretty good, huh." Sookie sipped her champagne making sure her pinky was lifted high.

Lorelai laughed and swatted her friends arm and they both laughed. they sat in silence for a few minutes more then Lorelai finished her drink and sat up. "I need to go find my bed and collapse."

"Your own bed?"

"Sookie."

"Or any bed?"

"Sookie!"

"Perhaps Luke's bed!"

"Sookie!"

"What, I'm just saying, maybe he needs another wake up call?"

"He's fine." She stood and put her hand out for Sookie's empty glass. "I'll put these on in the dishwasher then I'm going to go-"

Lorelai stopped talking as the room plunged into darkness, lit only by the dull embers of the fire.

"Damn, the power is gone."

"Shouldn't the generator kick in?"

"It should…" they both waited a little while to see if it would but as it became increasingly obvious that it wasn't going to, Lorelai sprung into action. "I need to get candles to the guests rooms. And then I need to go check out the ginny."

Sookie followed her friend into reception room where bewildered guests had out phones with the torch apps activated.

"Apologies folks, I'll get some candles and check out the generator. Please bear with us!"

Lorelai and sookie grabbed the candles and hotel match books from the store and started to hand them out to people who promptly started to light up the room.

"I've got speakers in my room, we can use them!" One person said as they hurried off to their room to grab them. By the time the room was lit up enough, the speakers were playing music again and everyone was back dancing. Lorelai and Sookie looked at one another and smiled.

"We better take these candles to the bedrooms so its safe when people are going to bed." She passed one box to Sookie and tossed a bunch of matchbooks in with them too. "You take the top floor I'll take the first." Lorelai said.

"Which floor is Luke on?"

"Sookie, not now!" they hurried off towards the stairs and Lorelai started on the first floor. She knocked on each door before opening it and letting herself in. She lit the fire at its lowest setting, to give enough light to see in the room, then set up a candle in a holder on the small desk with a matchbook next to it. She went into the bathroom and lit a tea light candle by the sink and repeated this in every room up to Luke's.

Outside his door she took a breath and idly brushed her hair back from her face. She reached up to knock, but before she could the door swung open and he stood there, barefoot, topless, in his trousers with the button undone, and her breath whooshed out of her lips with a sigh.

"Um, power's out," she managed to say.

"I noticed."

"I brought candles."

"Thanks." She didn't hand them over and simply just stared at him. "Do you want to give me one?"

"Um, yeah, sorry." her fingers fumbled in the box of candles and she struggled to grab one, then Luke reached up an took one for himself.

"Do you need a hand with this?"

"Hmm?"

"Candle service."

"No, its fine, I've only a few more rooms to go."

"Do you have a generator?"

"We do, but it didn't kick in. I'll go out and check it when I've made sure all the rooms are safe."

"Let me help," he said and he stepped back from the door. Lorelai watched as he crossed the room to the chair where his shirt was hanging off the back of it and carefully slipped into it with his injured shoulder.

"Really Luke, you don't need to-"

"I'm helping." He pulled on his socks and boots and struggled for a moment with the laces then simply pulled them tight with one hand and shoved the loose ends into the sides of the boots. "Okay, lets go." He came back to the door and closed it behind him, then took the box off her and gestured for her to lead the way. They went to three more rooms and Lorelai continued her set up routine. then they went down to the main floor where the bridal suite was set up with a private patio entrance. "Wow, this is the bridal suite?"

The room was easily twice as large as his, with a large four poster bed that was made up with a mountain of pillows. The fireplace was about the same as his but was adorned by a love seat and a plush rug. Luke watched as Lorelai crossed the room to the fire and turned it on to light up and heat the room. She then took two candles out of the box he was holding and set them up either side of the bed. She disappeared into the bathroom and Luke watched the flickering candle light appear shortly after.

She came back to his side and admired her set up. "There, that'll do right?"

"Yeah, it looks amazing."

Lorelai was proud of the inn. immensely proud. Everything, every single thing that adorned the walls, the furniture, the flooring, paints and decor were all her doing and she was immensely proud. but nothing like that wave of pride that washed over her at his words. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Okay, lets go check out the ginny."

"Lead the way."

They went back to the kitchen where Sookie had just returned. "Top floor sorted. I see you found help."

"He insisted." Lorelai said as she focused on putting the remaining candles into one box. "We're going out to look at the ginny, see if we can't get it working." She continued as she made to move towards the back door.

"Wait a second…" Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "You can't go out in that."

"But thats where the generator is… in a small shed across the rear driveway."

"No," Luke looked down at her dress. "I mean that, you can't go out in that weather in that dress, even if its for a short while."

Sookie watched this exchange with interest, offering no lifeline to Lorelai, and instead enjoying her suffer under Luke's eyes.

"Oh, right, of course. I'll quickly go change."

"Also I'll need a coat, hat, scarves."

"Check the wet room, out the back door. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

Luke let go of her arm and Lorelai hurried off. He turned to see Sookie leaning against the counter, watching him with a smile.

"I'll just go look in the wet room, for a coat."

She nodded and watched as he turned and left, not missing the blush that crept up his cheeks. Luke rummaged through the coats to find one that fit him, then pulled on a woolen hat and wrapped a scarf around his throat and covered the bottom of his face. He bent over and tucked his trousers into his boots and stood in time to see Lorelai coming through the door. She wore a pair of jeans and a thick knit jumper. She grabbed her coat and pulled on a hat and scarf too, mirroring his look. She went to the shelving by the door and grabbed two walkie-talkyie units. She shoved one in her pocket then gave the other to Sookie who was by the kitchen door.

Luke went to the door and looked out. The snow was falling heavily, with very little line of sight. "Which way?" he asked. She came up beside him and pointed in the direction of the shed.

"Its about 150 meters out there." Luke nodded and opened the outer door. He put his hand back to reach for her and she took it. He pulled her closer against him and they walked like that through the blizzard out to the shed. when they made it, he kicked the piled up snow away from the front of the door, then pulled it open and guided her through first. He followed and quickly pulled the door shut securely.

"Wow, its really coming down out there." He said as he pulled the scarf away from his face.

"I know, weather reports are saying it'll be like this for a few more days too."

"Days?" he looked at her with surprise.

"Yeah, looks like you're stuck with us a little while longer."

"There are worst places to be stuck." he said with a smile, and again Lorelai basked in a wave of pride. "Right, lets take a look here." Luke bent before the generator. He checked various parts and cables, muttering softly to himself as he went over a mental check list of options before finally finding a fault. "Ah ha."

"You found the problem?"

"Fuse."

"Its blown?" Lorelai looked around and found a large tool box. "Here," she said as she tried to lift it off a high shelf. Luke turned and saw her struggle and hurried over to help her. He stood behind her and reached up with his good arm to take the handle at the top. "Careful, its heavy," she warned.

"I can see that."

"There should spare parts in here for the ginny."

Luke opened it up and rifled through the various items in the box, pulling out various fuses to compare to the one he had in his hand until he finally found match. He replaced it in the ginny and closed the circuit cover then cranked the switch to get it started again and switched the power on. The ginny chugged to life and the chain started running. Luke looked over at Lorelai with a wide smile but before they could celebrate too soon there was a loud bang, and the new fuse sparked out and blew. Lorelai jumped in shock and grabbed at Luke, who grabbed her back and held her tightly against him.

"Jeez…" she muttered. "What the hell?"

"The fuse blew."

"The new one?" Lorelai looked up at him and he looked down at her and for a moment they just stared. Lorelai was the first to look away and she slowly extracted herself from his arms.

"Yeah, see if you can find another," he said as he took a step back over to the ginny. "I think the grounding isn't working here, but I can fix that."

Lorelai went back to the tool box and rifled through for another fuse to match the first blown one he had handed her and when she found it, she turned back to see Luke crouched over the circuit board and carefully examining everything there. She approached and put the light from the torch she was using into the spot where he was looking and he glanced up at her in thanks.

"Is there any copper wire in that box?"

Lorelai went back and found a spool of wire. "Yeah." he turned and caught the spool she tossed at him. "you need these too?"

He looked over his shoulder and saw her holding up a pair of wire cutters. "Yeah." She made to toss them over but his eyes opened in shock. "Don't!"

She smiled. "Joking." then walked over and handed them to her.

"Hilarious."

Luke quickly cut a length of wire and connected it to the circuit board by twisting it through the metal hole by the grounding plate. He wound the wire through the circuit board then connected it to the metal frame of the ginny and made sure it was secure. "There. Not ideal, but more than enough grounding. The fuse?" He held his hand out and she gently put the fuse into his palm. Luke tried to ignore the warm caress of her fingertips against his skin and instead focused on fitting the fuse in place. When it was done, he repeated the motion of resetting the circuits, cranked the switch and hovered his hand over the power button.

"Maybe step back a little…" he said and he waited for her to take a few steps back. "Here goes…" he pressed the power button and the ginny came to life. Luke scrambled back away from it and stood next to her. The ginny lights flickered in place for a moment then the signal light came on and Luke looked out the window to see the inn lit up again. "Its working."

"Oh thank god!" She jumped up and hugged him and he hugged her back with one arm, enjoying the press of her body against his, even through all the bulky outer clothing they were wearing. For a moment he held her against him but as he felt her pull away he released her completely. "Thank you, I'm not sure I could have fixed that myself."

"No problem, its the least I could do." he bent down to the ginny again and examined the gauges. "With rationing, we have enough fuel here for a couple of days, based on the canisters here." He shook the fuel canisters and was pleased to see they were nearly full."

"Hopefully it won't take that long to get the power grid back online."

"We should, um…we should get back." He pulled his scarf back up over his face and walked over to the door. When he was sure she was ready too, he made to push the door open but it wouldn't budge. He tried again but it was stuck.

"Whats going on?"

"Door is stuck. I think there is a build up of snow in front of it."

"Crap!"

"I can't even budge it," He slammed his good shoulder against the door but it was no use and a jolt of pain rattled through him that made even Lorelai wince.

"Careful, you'll hurt yourself."

"We need to get this door open." He slammed his shoulder against the door again but still it remained tightly closed. "I wonder if the lock froze over."

"Wait, the window, I can fit through that window."

"You can't crawl through that window Lorelai, its not safe, besides its a safety window, it won't open up enough."

"Then we can break it."

"And have you climb out over broken glass? No way!"

"Whats our alternative? Stay in here for the night?"

"Maybe someone can come out and clear the snow away from the door, you have that walkie talkie?"

"And risk someone else coming out in that blizzard? No, just help me with the window." Lorelai didn't wait for his response and instead she went over to the small window above the ginny. It was about 2ft by 1ft landscape window. He was right, it would only open a few inches, but she didn't mind breaking though it to get out of the shed.

She looked around for something to use to break the window and grabbed a hammer from the tool box. but before she could swing it at the glass, Luke hurried over and snatched it out of her hand.

"Hey!"

"Not like that."

"Instead he took off his hat and wrapped it a few times around his hand to protect it, then swiftly punched a hole through the window. He carefully cleared the rest of the glass, taking as much of it as he could into the shed, rather than out in the snow where she would be landing soon.

"I'll cover the ginny with a tarp to protect it from the cold. And we'll need to block that window with a tarp too." She prepared herself to climb out, using a the tool box as a stand to reach the window. Luke covered the ginny and fuel, then grabbed the hammer and a few nails and a folded up tarp, which he shoved in the front of his coat. "Ready?" he asked as he came up behind her to help her climb out.

"Yep," she said looking over her shoulder at him poised to lift her up.

"Go straight to the shed door, don't delay and clear the snow then come back inside ok?"

"Okay, lets do this."

She hefted herself up through the window and slowly squirmed out as best she could. Luke had his hands on her waist and helped her move out, then moved his hands down her thighs as she made her way through. Without thinking, he put his hands on her ass, and pushed her further, needing to get the leverage to help her out as quick as he could. Lorelai felt his fingers pressing into the top of her ass, and his palms push her cheeks out the window and she tried not to react in any way. Finally as her body made it through the window, his hands grabbed her shins and carefully helped her lower to the ground. When she was fully out, he stood on the tool box and leaned his head out.

"You ok?"

"Yeah!" she gave him a thumbs up and followed the wall of the shed and hurried to the door. By the time she had cleared up the snow and pulled the door open, Luke was standing inside and quickly pulled her in from the cold.

"You ok? you're not hurt?" He checked her arms and hands for cuts from the broken glass.

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay, wait here one moment, I'll secure this tarp over the broken window." He pushed the door open and hurried out. Lorelai watched from the window as he nailed the tarp over the broken window to stop the snow from getting in, then went to the door and met him for the walk back to the Inn. Again he pulled her close, held her hand against his chest and his arm over her shoulder as they trudged through the snow. When they made it to the wet room, Sookie greeted them with an excited clap.

"You did it!"

"It was Luke, he fixed it."

Lorelai smiled at him as they both undressed their outer gear. Luke pulled of his snow covered boots and ruffled his hand through his hair and Lorelai did the same. "Get in here, you both, I made you some hot chocolate, and go sit by the fire in the drawing room, I turned it up a notch for you both."

Lorelai saluted Sookie and smiled at Luke. Sookie unceremoniously shoved two large mugs of hot chocolate into their hands then ushered them out of the room. The dancing was still in full swing and the revelers had opted to keep the lights off and dance in the candlelight with the portable speakers playing random songs from someones phone. In the Drawing room, Sookie had left the candlelight on, and lit only one small lamp by the side of the couch. The fire was roaring and they both sat in front of it. Luke lifted his feet towards the heat and wiggled his toes.

"Oh that feels good." Lorelai smiled and matched his movements. He glanced over and smiled at her. She lifted her hot chocolate towards him, he clinked his mug against her and they both sipped. Immediatly Luke looked down at his drink then over at hers and frowned.

"Looks like she made these a little Irish."

"More than a little I'd say." He said after swallowing the heavily laced chocolate and trying not to react to the taste of the whiskey.

"I guess I am officially off duty so!" she said as she took another generous gulp.

Luke chuckled. "I think you did enough today."

"I can't thank you enough for your help."

"My help?" he shook his head. "After everything you did for me last night, and today?" He looked up at the fire. "Don't mention it. I'm not even close to paying you back."

"Oh, I get more?" she sipped her drink and glanced at him over the rim of her mug.

"Sure. You deserve it."

"Like what?"

Luke flustered. This wasn't the direction he intended on this conversation to go, though he didn't really have a direction in mind at all. "Well I could…help you dig out the snow in the yard." Lorelai made a so-so gesture with her mouth. "I could…fix that generator properly tomorrow."

"So you're saying its not fixed now?"

"Its working, but its not as fixed as it could be."

"Okay, getting better."

"Is there anything you'd like me to take a look at?"

"Well you seem quite talented, with your hands."

"I do?" he couldn't help the blush that crept up over his cheeks and hoped the light from the fire was enough to disguise it as he wondered where she was going with this.

"Perhaps you could help me with a few odd jobs around the Inn."

"Oh, yeah!" he let out a small laugh, not sure if he was relieved or not. "Of course."

"They are all indoor jobs, simple things like stuck drawers, squeaky doors, wonky bannister."

"Sure thing. I'd love to help out in any way I can."

"Deal." she held up her cup again and he clinked them together before they both took long sips. Luke let out a breath and rested his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. "Tired?" she whispered into the stillness after a moments silence.

"I dunno. I think so."

"You're head is ok?" she asked, a tinge of worry diluting her voice.

"Yeah, yeah, my head is fine. My shoulder aches a little, but its more my sleep cycle is just a little messed up after last night."

"Ah right, I know what you mean." she sipped her drink and looked back at the fire to stop herself from staring at his incredibly straight jaw line. "My body is bone tired, but my brain is wired!" Luke chuckled. "I reckon if I did go to bed I'd be too tired to sleep."

Luke rolled his head towards her to see if he could read her face, see what she really meant by that comment, but her face was distorted by the flickering flames. When she she turned to look at him and smile, he lost the run of himself and just kept staring. He felt the magnetic pull towards her even before he knew he was moving closer and he watched her eyes for realization of his desire to kiss her. Mere inches apart, he paused, as if allowing her a moment to confirm his action but before he could resume his journey towards her lips, a loud group of revelers came from the reception room to make their way upstairs.

Luke pulled back immediatly and Lorelai sat forward. She brushed her hair behind her ears then gripped her mug of chocolate tight between her knees. She waited for the quiet to return then took a deep breath and stood up. "Looks like everything is winding down. I better go see if I'm needed."

"Right, yeah." Luke stood up too and she held out her hand to take his mug. For a moment he thought she was asking to take his hand and he had to double take before be realised what she wanted. He handed it over to her and she smiled. "Sleep well Luke. See you tomorrow."

Luke simply nodded and watched as she hurried away. He wondered if he read that moment wrong. She seemed to escape pretty quickly after his failed attempt to kiss her but he was sure she wanted it as it was happening. He stood for a moment contemplating what he might have taken up wrong and decided his concussed and whiskey filled brain was just not up to the task. Instead he turned off the fire, and the lamp and went up to his room.

Lorelai helped the remaining guests find their rooms in the darkened hallways before returning to the reception room to clear up the last of the glasses with sookie and two waiters. She sent the waiters to bed and shortly after hugged Sookie and sent her up too. She went back into the drawing room, almost hoping to see Luke still sitting there but found it empty and her heart sank a little bit. She ensured the inn was securely locked for the night before slowly making her way up to her room. Another trail of discarded clothes joined the other two inside her door and she fell into the bed with a long tormented sigh. The cold sheets were a welcome to the scorching heat of her body, and she spread out across the bed with arms and legs akimbo. There was one thing she was wrong about anyway, her ability to sleep, as she fell hard and fast into a deep soothing sleep her body craved.


	5. Chapter 5

By morning Lorelai was feeling refreshed and rested. She lay in bed for a few minutes more after waking, to take it all in. The success of the ceremony and reception was a great achievement for her and Sookie and the inn, despite the harrowing beginning, but the main episode that replayed over and over was her trek with Luke out to the shed, his hands pressing against her ass, his arm over her shoulder as he held her tight against him, his shoulder leaning against hers as he moved in to kiss her. Lorelai smiled and let out a soft chuckle. He would try again. She was sure of it. She jumped out of bed and showered quickly, eager to get her day started. She dressed in warm clothes, knowing she was going to have to go out to the shed again at some stage to check on the ginny and hurried down to the kitchen where Sookie was just finishing off breakfast preparations.

"Morning sweetie." Sookie called out as her friend crossed the room to the coffee machine. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, amazingly."

"Alone?"

"Huh?" Lorelai looked over and saw as Sookie wiggled her eyebrows. "Sookie! Yes I was alone, in my room, alone, asleep."

Sookie sighed and returned her focus to the porridge she was stirring. "As usual," she muttered but before Lorelai could react there was a soft knock on the door and it was pushed open. Luke popped his head round and smiled at them both but his smile faltered at the look on both their faces.

"Sorry, I just wanted to check…I was um looking for…"

"Have you had breakfast yet Luke?" Sookie asked, seeing him struggle to finish his sentence.

"No."

"Well here then, pull out a stool, and sit yourself down." She gestured to the tall stools by the edge of the counter then grabbed a bowl and spooned a large helping of porridge into it. She took a caddy of sauces from beneath the counter and place it all in front of him. "Get this down ya, to keep you warm."

"Thanks, this looks amazing." He poured a small bit pf maple syrup into the porridge and stirred it up before eating.

"Lorelai? Porridge?"

"No thanks. I'll have a bagel." Lorelai focused on making herself a bagel with creme cheese and tried to ignore the idle chatter between Luke and Sookie. The wait staff had the reception room back to normal setting and came in and out of the kitchen to grab breakfast stuff as the guests needed it. Sookie followed them out with the fresh batch of porridge as Luke was finished his helping and Lorelai was rinsing her plate by the sink.

"So you have a list of jobs for me?" he asked with a jovial tone as he approached and rinsed out his bowl before putting it into the dishwasher.

"I don't have list, I mean, that kinda makes me feel like I'm taking advantage."

"Don't even think about that, take advantage of me!" he pleaded just as Sookie walked back into the room. She raised an eyebrow and backed back into the reception leaving them both looking at each other stunned. "That probably sounded…"

"Yeah."

"Anyway, I mean it, please, give me a list."

"Okay," Lorelai said after a moments hesitation. "I'll get a list together for you."

"Great, in the mean time I'm going to go out to the shed and properly secure that broken window."

"Come back to my office when you are done, I'll have it ready."

"And your office is…?"

"Behind the reception desk."

"Okay. One more thing… my clothes?"

"Oh they should be ready. This way." Lorelai preceded him to the laundry room and found his clothing washed and folded ready for delivery to his room. "Here you go."

"Thanks, what do I-"

"Don't even offer to pay."

"But I-"

"Don't you dare." Lorelai walked past him and left him smiling after her.

He hurried up to his room and changed into the clean clothes knowing they would be better suited to the tasks he was about to undertake than dress pants and a shirt. When he came back to the wet room through the kitchen he spotted Sookie brewing up coffee and blushed under her knowing gaze. He nodded and hurried out, fitted on his boots, and pulled on a scarf and hat again, before hurrying through the snow to the shed. He cleared the snow from the front of the door again but this time proper the door open with a brick. He found a small mdf board that would cover the window and went outside to nail it over the tarp covering the window. then returned to the shed to look for the tools he would need. Delighted when he found a tool belt, he slung it over his shoulder and hefted the large tool box out with him. He secured the shed door closed and retuned to the inn as quick as he could. He knocked his shoes against the wall to knock the excess snow off them then kicked them off and pulled off the rest of the outer gear. Sookie was still in the kitchen as he came back inside the tool belt still over his shoulder and the tool box in his good hand.

"Lorelai has a few jobs for me to keep me occupied and out of trouble," he said as he tried to explain his appearance.

"Shame." Sookie muttered as he walked through the room. "A man like you should be always in trouble." she said as he left the room and he leaned to the side to keep him in view as long as she could.

Luke left the tool box on the reception desk and went to the office door. He knocked and awaited her response to come in before pushing the door open. She was sitting on the other side of the desk, writing on a legal pad, her head bent and her hair cascading over the page.

"Almost ready…" she added a few more items then stood and ripped the page out of the pad. "There. This should keep you busy."

Luke took the list she offered him and at first was staggered by the amount of tasks on it. "All this?"

"No! Of course not. Not all, just whatever you can manage. Its a list I would have prepared for our maintenance guy. So basically whatever you can't make it to, I can share with him."

"Right," he said as he took a closer look and realised a lot of these were very minor jobs and he would most likely get through the bulk of them before the end of the day.

"I see you found a tool belt."

"Yeah, I guess it belongs to your maintenance guy. Its ok if I use it?"

"Sure, it belongs to the inn, so they are there to be used by whomever has the talent to do so," she said with a smile.

"Okay, I'm going to get started on this right now."

He left the room and Lorelai leaned against the desk. "Whomever has the talent to do so?" she said, mocking her own voice as she lifted a hand up to her face to cover her blush. "Get it together Lorelai!" She puffed a breath out past her pursed lips and ran her fingers through her hair before promptly walking out of the room, and almost ran into his back. "Oh, Luke, sorry I didn't expect you to be standing there."

"Sorry, I'm just having a bit of trouble getting the belt connected." With his sore shoulder he didn't have the power to hoist the belt around his waist and tried a few ways of catching it on the desk but it was too high for his hip.

"Are you sure you're well enough to do this?" she said, already doubting her agreement.

"I can do it, I won't be using my arm for most of these, but I just need to tie this belt on."

"Here, let me help." She took the belt from him and lowered herself to reach around his waist. She took one end in the other hand and circled it around him and Luke held both arms up out of her way. Bent in front of him, trying to get the thick leather strap through the metal buckle, Lorelai was focused on her task and didn't hear Sookie calling out her name as she came through the hall way. Luke looked up as Sookie turned the corner and immediately realised what this looked like. His arms were high, they stood behind the reception desk and Lorelai was lowered with her head at his crotch. Sookie stood and started at them for a moment before locking eyes with Luke and her smile widened.

"Um, Lorelai," he said as he tapped her shoulder.

"Almost there."

"Lorelai," he said louder, this time grabbing her shoulder to make her look up. "Sookie…"

Sookie was now watching with interest, her arms folded across her chest and a wide smile plastered on her face. Lorelai looked over her shoulder in the direction Luke was looking and spotted Sookie. She rolled her eyes at her friend and went back to the task at hand as Sookie turned and walked away. When she got the belt fastened, Lorelai stood up and dusted her hands in accomplishment. "There."

"I feel like I'm in an episode of three's company." Luke muttered as he settled the belt around him more comfortably.

"Huh?"

"And Sookie is Mr Roper."

Lorelai genuinely laughed at his comment and delighted in his reference. "Well you're wearing a tool belt now, so it is one step closer to a porno." Luke choked on a laugh and turned to grab the took box to load up the belt he was wearing with necessary tools. "You're all set?"

"Yeah, I'll get started on these."

"Thanks Luke. And remember, its not a full list for you. Take it easy, you should still officially be resting."

"I will."

"What ever you are doing at noon, stop it, and come into the kitchen for lunch."

"See you then." He moved to the end of the reception and squeezed past her, careful not to brush against her in any place he could help it, then hurried upstairs to take on the first of his tasks. Lorelai watched him leave then went back into the kitchen where Sookie was waiting eagerly.

"What is up with you two today?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you have to stop looking at us that way, you're making him uncomfortable."

"Looking at him what way?"

"With those leery eyes!"

"I come around the corner and see you bent over with your head at his waist behind the reception counter… what was I supposed to think?"

"That I was helping him with his tool belt."

"Thats how all the best porno's start!" Sookie said with a laugh and Lorelai turned away to hide her smile. "So you didn't answer my question… whats going on with you two?"

"Nothing."

"Did you kiss him?"

"No!"

"Did he kiss you?"

"…No!"

"Ah ha!" Sookie shouted as she pointed a finger at Lorelai. "J'accuse!"

"You 'ccuse nothing! The is nothing to 'ccuse!"

"There was a hesitation in your second response. Tell me everything!"

Lorelai hesitated again and busied herself making a coffee as she took the time to formulate a response. "There is nothing really to tell, she began."

"But…" Sookie said, encouraging her to continue.

Lorelai pulled out a seat by the counter and sat down. "Last night, after we came in from the shed, there was…a moment."

"A moment?"

"He was leaning in, there was a moment."

"So he kissed you?"

"No, we got interrupted by a group from the wedding party."

"Oh dammit." Sookie slapped her closed fist on the counter. "Didn't he pick up where he left off after the left?"

"No, I kind of made quick escape."

"Lorelai! Why would you do that!?" Sookie exclaimed. "A gift horse is right here, looking at your mouth."

"Huh? I don't think thats how that saying goes."

"Who cares! there is a cute guy here under this roof, wanting to kiss you!"

"Well thats just it, we're stuck here for a while now, so maybe its best if we don't-"

"Oh shut up." Sookie swatted her friends shoulder. "I love you Lorelai, I love you more than I should, because you frustrate the hell out of me."

"What? Why?"

"You let all these great men slip by your fingers for one silly reason or another."

"Silly?"

"His car is too loud, his shoes squeak, he picks his teeth with an envelope-"

"Oh come on! That one is valid!"

"I'll give you that one, fine, but the rest…no. Excuses, not reasons." Lorelai was smart enough to look abashed as she sipped her coffee. "This snowmaggeddon thats hit us this weekend is a sign. Luke getting caught up in it, just outside of our inn, its a sign, him leaning into you to kiss you, is a god damn flashing neon sign. Follow the signs lorelai, please, follow the signs."

"Okay, okay!" it had been a while since she had heard a good rant from Sookie and usually she egged her on, but this time she wanted to soothe her friends worries. "If I see another sign, I'll follow it."

"Good." Sookie dusted off her hands and retuned her focus to her lunch time prep. Lorelai sat in silence for a few minutes more and Sookie began to worry if she was being to abrupt with her friend but after rinsing out her cup and putting it in the dishwasher, Lorelai came up behind Sookie and hugged her tightly.

"I love you too Sook," She whispered then kissed the back of her friends head and went back to her office.

Shortly after noon, Luke came back downstairs and timidly entered the kitchen. Lorelai was no where to be seen and Sookie was so deeply focused on cooking and singing that she didn't hear him come in. He walked in further and pulled a stool out from the counter and waited for her to turn around. When she did, it was a little start at the sight of him sitting there. "Oh Luke, you startled me."

"Sorry," he said with a smile. "I tried to call out to you, but you didn't hear me. And I didn't want to tap you shoulder in case you had a sharp knife."

"Good thinking." She wiped the large blade she was carrying with a towel that hung out from the strong of her apron and placed it onto the counter. "You here for some lunch?"

"Yeah Lorelai instructed me to come down at noon for lunch."

"So what'll you have."

"Whatever's going is fine. It all smells wonderfully."

"I have a cilantro lime drizzled salmon on a bed of rocket with roasted asparagus and peppers."

"Sounds amazing."

"Okay, give me a few minutes and I'll have it ready." She turned back to the cooker. "Help yourself to a coffee."

"Any tea?"

"Sure in the pantry," she said and waved at the direction of the pantry. Luke went in, in search of tea as Lorelai walked in the other door.

"Sookie, you're right."

"I'm always right honey," she said with a smile over her shoulder. "About what?"

"The signs. The moment. My excuses. Luke."

"Oh honey no," Sookie turned to face her and looked at the pantry. "Luke you find the tea?"

Luke came out of the pantry studying the side of the tea bag box. "I've heard the dark oolangs go well with a salmon dish, have you tried this one?"

"Oh yeah, this one is really good. there is hot water in the machine, help yourself."

Luke took one back out of the box and put it back in the pantry then looked up and saw Lorelai standing at the counter, her face shocked and pale. "Oh Hi Lorelai," he said but his smile faltered. "Everything ok?"

"Yep. Yes, everything is fine." She forced herself to sit at the counter and looked away as he proceeded to the machine to get hot water for his tea.

"Usual for lunch Lorelai?"

"Yeah Sookie please."

As if she expected this response Sookie plated up a BLT and placed it in front of Lorelai as she put the salmon in front of Luke. "Fries will be ready in just a second."

Lorelai looked at Lukes plate. "Thats what you're eating?" she said, her lipped curled up in disgust.

"Yeah, why?"

"Fish and veggies for lunch."

"Yeah, its delicious. Better than this food you have."

"And fries, don't forget the fries."

Luke looked over as Sookie shook a basket of fries out and dabbed them with paper towels then added salt and vinegar before placing them in front of Lorelai. "This is your usual lunch?"

"Well sometimes I mix it up a little. cheeseburger and fries, club sandwich and fries, chilli dog and fries. Anything with fries really, they are the main component of the lunch."

"And you eat this every day?" he said as she took a large bite of her sandwich.

"Mmm hmm," she said nodding her head as she chewed.

"Wow, you must run ten miles a day to work that stuff off. You do not look like someone who eats that for lunch eery day."

"Sometimes," she whispered as she leaned towards him and looked over both shoulders conspiratorially. "Sometimes I have it for dinner too." Luke rolled his eyes and focused on his own lunch. they sat in silence for a few minutes, each getting their fill of their food before they were able to chat again.

"So how are the jobs going?"

"Pretty good. I'm going room by room, rather than like tasks and I've got three rooms cleared so far."

"Three?" she looked at him with surprise. "Thats amazing. You sure you're not going too hard?"

"No, its fine. I need something to keep myself occupied. I don't like…sitting still."

"Feel a little trapped."

"Well yeah, I mean…" he gestured out the window where the endless stream of snow was falling. "we literally are trapped."

Lorelai chuckled and grabbed some fries off her plate. "Yeah, hopefully not for too long. You must be dying to get back to see how your diner is going."

"I'm not worried. Tom will look after it for me. And Stars Hollow is not exactly the crime capital of America."

"Beautiful town."

"Yeah? You know it?"

"Yeah I thought about buying a house there, but instead invested all my money into this Inn with Sookie."

"How long have you been running this place?"

"Nearly 8 years."

"Wow, thats really impressive." Lorelai basked in the appreciation he offered. "I hope my diner is half as successful as this."

"I'm sure it will be." She bit a few more fries then chewed and swallowed and turned to face him. "Diner food, you mean like burgers, fries and shakes?"

"Yeah pretty much, along with the staple americas breakfast foods."

"My favourite foods!" she said with a squeal of delight. "Oh Luke," she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "I'm going to be your best customer."

"Well that depends on whether or not you like my cooking."

"Only one way to test that out."

"You want me to cook you something?" he asked as he looked down at her half eaten lunch.

"Not now, I'm literally in the middle of eating my lunch. But you could make me dinner tonight?"

"Yeah?" Luke looked at her with a slight frown as if deciding she was teasing him. "really?"

"Sure, why not! Once the dinner rush is over at the inn the kitchen is free for the rest of the evening. If you don't mind a later dinner, Sookie won't mind."

"Okay, yeah, I'd love to." Lorelai smiled and bit into a few more ketchup covered fries. "Anything in particular you would like me to make?"

"Dealers choice." She finished off the last of her sandwich and fries then sat back and let it all sink in. "I'll check with Sookie what time suits."

"Sure thing."

She cleared her place setting away and made herself a coffee. "Okay, I better get back to it. Remember, take it easy today, please rest up. you're still not 100%."

"Yes boss."

Lorelai smiled and walked out of the kitchen. She caught Sookie in the dining room and linked her arm then guided her into the office.

"What, whats going on? I stayed out of the kitchen! Did you get a sign?"

"Luke is going to cook dinner for me tonight."

"Oh!?" Sookie jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

"What time will the kitchen be closed to the guests?"

"I can have everything done by 7.30, does that work?"

"Yeah, that should be fine."

"Whats he cooking?"

"I dunno," Lorelai smiled and sipped her coffee as she leaned back into her chair.

"This is so exciting." Sookie started to pace. "Okay I think I might mix up the menu a little, see if I can't shave some clean up time off that 7.30."

"No Sookie, don't change what you've already prepared."

"I won't, I'll just do more prep work now so I can get a head start on the clean up."

"Sookie, seriously, don't go to any trouble."

"I better get to it. Chat later!"

Sookie bustled out of the office and went directly to the kitchen where Luke was placing his stuff into the dishwasher.

"Oh hey Sookie, that salmon was amazing. I don't suppose you would share that recipe."

"Sure, you can pull it from my cold dead hands." she smiled sweetly at him and tilted her head as she approached him. "A little birdie tells me you want to use my kitchen later."

"You mean Lorelai?"

"And she mentioned you are cooking some mystery menu for her?"

"Mystery menu? Not quite how I would put it."

"Okay, mister, listen up." Sookie walked towards him, making him back up into the counter. she poked a finger into his chest as she spoke. "Lorelai loves fries. She loves meat. She hates vegetables, she loves pasta drenched in sauce. She loves tasty spice but not burny spice. She will not "give something a go" she has a set list of foods she will eat and god help you if you try to sneak something past her."

"Well we were talking about diner food, so I was going to make her a cheese burger."

"Hold the lettuce and tomato, add the bacon."

"Crispy bacon?"

"Is there any other kind?"

"And fries."

"Chilli bacon fries?"

"Of course."

"And onion rings."

"Yeah, and a side order of onion rings."

"Good. Thats a great Lorelai friendly menu, you're very intuitive."

"Th-thanks."

"Okay, in that case you need to get lost, while I prep the dinner menu. I can have the kitchen ready for you shortly after 7, but if you want to start earlier we can make it work."

"Seven is fine. Thanks Sookie."

Sookie waved him away and he left with a smile. He hurried back to his list of jobs, though this time his mind was wandering to his cooking task later on. He wondered briefly if Sookie was setting him up for failure. No way would Lorelai be able to eat all that in one sitting. But having witnessed her demolish her lunch he wasn't so sure it would be an issue. Luke shook his head to get out of his rampant Lorelai thoughts and instead focused on fixing a leaky faucet in one of the rooms next the his own. He worked more items off his list until close to 4pm, then returned to his room to ease a growing headache. He showered taking his time to enjoy the high pressure spray and ease the tension from his muscles. He set the bedside alarm to be sure he woke in a few hours then collapsed into the bed and slept.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** : Just a small update tonight.

So... I just realized I totally forgot that Michel existed, even though I had him in the Inn at the start. Lets all agree to pretend he's doing his usual self, and just staying up in his room away from all the pesky guests. And fear not, there will be no Chris or other people worming their way into this perfect Christmas story. _(Lol shit I forgot it was christmas too!) Move along, nothing to see here!_

* * *

Lorelai helped out with the dinner prep, knowing how Sookie was pressuring herself to get everything cleared away for Luke. She covered the floor, helped with wait staff and tried to make it run as smoothly as possible. By six o'clock, Sookie ushered her out of the kitchen and ordered her up to her room to get ready. The few guests in the hotel had eaten in groups, and Sookie managed to get everything served and cleared before seven.  
When Luke walked in a few minutes later she was wiping down the counter and slung the dishcloth over her shoulder as he approached. She noticed he had shaved and groomed himself a little more than she expected and she smiled appreciatively.

"Look at you all spruced up?"

"Not quite. I mean they are the only other clothes I own."

"Well you look good."

"So, I'm good to go?"

"Yep, you should find everything you need in the pantry, meat and veg is in the walk in fridge."

"Thanks for this Sookie."

"No problem. If you burn down my kitchen I'll hunt you down and cut you." She said through a sweet smile and Luke smiled a little and looked away.

After Sookie left, Luke found a lap apron and tied it around himself then started to make the chili. He put into the pot and stirred it a while in the marinade then focused on making the patties, every so often stirring the chili. He cut up home made fries and left them in water for a while, as he prepped the toppings and chopped the onions for the rings. He took the fries out of the water and patted them dry before adding them to the fryer and quickly returned to the chili to stir it. Luke lifted the fries out of the fryer and tossed them into a large bowl, dusted them with sea salt as Lorelai walked in.

"Hey," she said. He turned and smiled and saw she had changed too. "Need a hand with anything?"

"You could grab a couple of plates, and cutlery maybe?"

"Sure, are we eating in here."

"Yeah, if you like, whatever works."

"I think there are still some guests chatting in the dining room, so here is better." She said as she laid out two place mats side by side at the end of the counter. "They might get jealous of my dinner." Luke chuckled and stirred the chili again. "Speaking of which, whats on the menu?" She came up behind him and try to see what he was working on.

"Hey, no spoilers. Go finish setting the table. It'll be ready soon." He balanced the fries on the edge of the fryer and gave the chili another stir then prepped the batter for the onions. He dipped them and set them aside in the in a bowl then heated the pan for the patties.

"What ever it is, it smells amazing."

"Well I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

Luke smiled at her and she walked over to a small radio to find some music to play. Without asking Lorelai went into the pantry and grabbed a bottle of red wine and a couple of glasses. She opened the bottle and set is aside to breathe. By the sounds of cooking, and the smells she knew what food was be served up to her and she was incredibly excited. Luke blanch fried the fries in two batches and set them aside with a paper towel covering them, then dipped the onion rings into oil before he turned back to the patties and flipped the once.

Lorelai watched him cooking and couldn't help but admire the graceful calmness he emitted as he went from station to station, not an ounce of energy wasted. Eventually when he was done, Luke turned to face her fully and untied the apron from around his waste. "Okay, you ready?"

"Yes!"

He smiled then turned back to the food. He plated her burger as per Sookie instructions then added a generous helping of fries to the side. He put the onion rings in another bowl and then placed both in front of her. He turned back to grab the chili and with a ladle he prepared to pour it over her fries.

"Chili on the side of over the fries?"

"Over, always over!" she responded enthusiastically.

He dished several large helpings of the chili over her fries but not over her onion rings. On his own plate Luke made up a burger with lettuce, tomato and cheese and plated up some fries but omitted the chili from his serving.

"Not a fan of chili?" She asked when he put the plate next to hers.

"I like chili, but not sure I could handle it with the burger as well."

"Lightweight." Lorelai looked back at her own plate and wasn't sure where she wanted to start. Luke reached for the bottle of wine and poured out two glasses. She lifted the burger up in both hands and held it closer for inspection. she licked her lips, and opened her mouth to take a full bite. Luke watched in anticipation as she chewed and loved how her eyes slowly closed over as she concentrated on the flavors. She made a soft moan that shot right through him and he coughed a little to stop himself from moaning too. After she swallowed the large bite she put her burger back on the plate and leaned back.

"Its ok?" he asked, worried now that she didn't like it.

"Luke, don't tell Sookie this but…" she turned to him and smiled. "Thats the best burger I've ever tasted." Luke smiled widely and sighed with relief. he speared a fry off his own plate and ate it with a grin. "Now to taste the chili."

Luke felt that same feeling of dread bubble up from inside him and he watched as she repeated the inspection before putting a fork full of chili cheese fries into her mouth. Again, her eyes closed over as she chewed and she moaned as the flavor exploded in her mouth. "Jesus Luke." She slapped her hand on the table. "This is amazing. you're a really good cook!"

"Thanks," he said with a blush.

"You're diner is going to be a huge success."

"And you'll be my best customer?"

"Try and stop me, if you promise to keep feeding me burgers like this."

Luke smiled and picked up his own burger. "You should try it with lettuce and tomato, god forbid even a slice of pickle."

"Please, all that does it take up valuable cheese reality on my burger."

"But it adds more flavor and texture."

"But…less cheese." she replied, as if it was an obvious argument. "Cheese is love, cheese is life!"

"I see your point." he conceded and bit into his burger again.

They continued to eat surrounded by an easy silence broken only by the soft music playing on the radio station and Lorelai's soft moans as she ate. Luke shifted on his stool, trying desparatly to ignore her soft mewling and focused on eating his own dinner. She finished her burger and focused her chili, all the while taking onion rings to dip into the sauce. Soon her plate was clear and the bowl of onion rings was empty. Luke shook his head in amazement at her capacity to fit it all in and couldn't help but admire her figure.

"What?" she asked when she caught him looking at her. "Wondering where it all goes?" she said with a chuckle.

"Yeah!" he replied without hesitation. "You're cholesterol must be through the roof."

"No, its actually quite low."

"Miracle of science!" He gathered the plates and put them into the dishwasher then started to clean up the mess from his cooking.

"Leave that for a while Luke. Come sit and finish your wine." Luke looked over his shoulder where she was holding up his glass and quickly washed his hands before joining her. "That dinner was simply amazing." she held up her glass and he clinked his against it and they booth drank.

"Thanks."

"No, thank you for cooking for me."

"Any time."

"Be careful, I'l hold you to that." Luke smiled and sipped his wine. "When did you realize you wanted to open a diner?"

"Not sure, its always something thats been in the back of my mind. But it just stayed back there as I looked after my parents. Suddenly, when they were gone, i had all this time and I needed something to focus on." Lorelai reached over and rested a hand on his arm. "So now seemed like a good time to realise this life altering dream of running my own diner."

Lorelai let his words sink into the room in silence but before it because to heavy, she squeezed his arm, leaned into him a little closed and spoke. "So you can cook, but can you make coffee?"

"Coffee? Sure."

"Lets see what you got? You start a brew and I'll start cleaning."

"No you don't need to do that, this is my mess."

"Luke don't even argue with me. I'll start cleaning, you make a brew."

He held his hands up to agree with her protest and moved over to the coffee maker. Lorelai focused on rinsing out the dishes and adding them to the dishwasher. She watched Luke go into the pantry with a bowl of coffee grounds and wondered what he was up to. She had the cleaning almost finished by the time he had the coffee ready and he placed it next to where she was sitting earlier. "Go sit, drink your coffee and I'll finish up."

Lorelai washed her hands and returned to her seat as Luke finished up cleaning. She was so enamored by the vision of him cleaning with the same graceful movements of before, that she forgot about her coffee until her turned to look at her and asked her how it tasted.

"Oh, one sec…" She lifted the mug and inhaled the aroma before taking a long sip. the flavor of whatever else he had put in with the coffee grounds hit her at once and Luke smiled as her eyes opened wide with delight. "Oh my god Luke." She sipped the coffee again. :You can make this coffee, you can cook and you are good with your hands? How are you still single?" she blurted out and took another sip, closing her eyes and delighting in the flavor of his coffee, entirely missing the look on Luke's face. He had recovered enough by the time her eyes opened again and he focused back on wiping the counters down. "So?" she asked when he folded the dish cloth over the edge of the sink.

"Hmm?" he sat next to her and sipped the glass of wine he had been drinking earlier.

"How come you are still single?" she asked boldly.

"Oh, hmm, I dunno." he answered non committedly, hoping she would drop the topic.

"Have you had any long term relationships?"

"One."

"how long?"

"Six years."

Lorelai nearly spat out the mouth full of coffee she was sipping. "Six years?!"

"High school sweethearts," Luke added, not knowing why he was so pleased with her reaction.

"What happened?"

"She wanted to travel and see the world."

"And you didn't?"

"Couldn't." Luke swirled the wine around his glass and avoided her interested gaze. "I needed to stay close to home. My mum was ill, my dad needed a hand taking care of her. Then my dad was ill."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"Its ok." He patted her hand that rested on her arm. "No regrets right."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I made these choices in my life with open eyes. No one forced me to make it one way or another." He let his words sink in and felt her fingers press into his arm. "Sure I ended a relationship, I had my heart broken," he said with a sad smile. "But I would not trade that time I had with my parents for anything."

Lorelai gave his words the gravitas they deserved.

"That was quite a while ago. And you never met anyone else?"

"I never looked." Luke shrugged. He lifted his wine and sipped it to take a moment to think about where this conversation was going and if he wanted to follow it. "I mean, I'm not a priest," he said with a chuckle. "but nothing really worked out."

"Pining after your lost love?" she teased him.

"No," Luke chuckled. "Not pining. I don't pine." Lorelai smiled and drank the dregs of her coffee then stood and got a refill. "What about you?"

"Me? No I'm not pining after anyone."

"What happened to your kids father?"

"Oh him?" she took her seat again and settled in. "He split pretty much the second he found out I was pregnant."

"Shit really?"

"Well, he was 17."

This time it was Lukes turn to spit take. "17?"

"I was 16," she added without giving him a chance to recover. "We were young and rebellious and had the world at our fingertips. but we got carried away and next thing, pop, Rory."

"Rory?"

"My daughter." Lorelai sipped her coffee. "Seriously Luke, this coffee gets better and better the more I drink."

He nodded at her appreciation and waited for her to continue her story. He wanted to prod her to keep talking but feared he was prying.

"Anyway, senior year in high school was interesting. My parents took it well enough?"

"Yeah?" he said hopefully.

"Oh god no. They freaked out." She laughed but it was without mirth. "they hid me away for the duration of my pregnancy. My mom had to cancel my cotillion ball, she still laments that fact."

"You guys get along now?"

"Well enough I guess." Lorelai sipped her coffee again. "I mean I do love them, I really do. and I understand what I put them through, but I'm not sure I'll ever forgive my mom for what she put me through."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, no," Lorelai smiled softly at him. "Fair trade of sob stories huh."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Besides, mine is not a sob story." Lorelai sipped her coffee. "Rory is the best thing that has ever happened to me. without question."

"What's she like?"

"She is ridiculously smart." Lorelai smiled and Luke was pleased to see the light return to her eyes. "cute as a button, but she hates when I say that., For better or worse, she is just like me, but a better version. She really has it all together."

"You must be proud."

"Yeah, can you tell?"

"A little." Luke smiled with her and she nudged his shoulder with her own and looked up at him shyly. Luke saw something cross her face and he wondered if this was his moment to kiss her. She waited for him to react, to lean down towards her but he seemed to hesitate. his hesitation seeped into her and she pulled away. And just like that the moment passed. Luke was kicking himself, for not taking his chance but as she stood and rounded the kitchen to the sink he reached out to grab her back, but before his hand could, he dropped his hand to his lap. Lorelai put her coffee mug away, then the two wine glasses they had used and switched it on for the night cycle.

"So thanks for dinner Luke." She said with a wide smile. "It was really delicious."

"My pleasure." he glanced up at her but looked away lest she saw the defeat there.

"I'm going to call it a night. See you tomorrow."

"G'night Lorelai."

He watched her leave and took a moment to rally himself before making his own way up to bed. he wasn't sure why he hesitated. She clearly wanted him to kiss her. And then when she walked away he didn't know why he didn't just reach for her. He showered and slipped into bed all the while mulling the night over, trying to decipher his own thoughts and failing miserably. Was it that they were stuck under the same roof and feared what her rejection would do to him if he couldn't escape? Was it that he was afraid of the powerful magnetism he felt towards her? Was it that he was just a plain and simple chicken shit? Luke laughed at his own train of thoughts, and rolled over onto his front with a defeated side.

Lorelai lay in her bed and started up at the ceiling wondering why he didn't kiss her. He had that look in his eyes again, like he wanted to. She knew that look, she had seen that look in other men. Hell she had seen it in Luke. but usually when she saw that look, when she reciprocated, the next thing she knew was what it felt like to be kissed again. But not this time. She began to wonder if she was clear in her own desire, if her look was matching his. Perhaps the deep conversation they were having was changing the look she was reciprocating. She wondered what she could do to make it clear what she wanted, but short of kissing him first, she came up with nothing she wasn't already doing.

"Alright Luke Danes," she muttered aloud. "If that's what you want, then fine. You got it."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N** : Pulled the trigger too early on this chapter so updated it with a new ending.

* * *

"Well good morning to you!" Sookie sang as Luke timidly pushed the kitchen door open and stepped inside.

"Um, morning…" he muttered.

"Porridge?"

"Yeah, please."

She patted the stool next to where she was standing and dished out a bowl for him and Luke had no choice but to sit down. He focused on putting some honey in his dish and spooning it through, to avoid Sookie's gaze but when he eventually looked up, she was watching him carefully. She had her elbow on the counter, her chin resting in her palm, and a soft smile on her face. Luke lifted his eyebrows and offered her a small smile before refocusing back on his breakfast.

"So…how was dinner?"

"Um, good."

"She liked what you had on offer?"

Luke ignored the pointed way she put her question and slowly nodded his head. "Yeah she seemed to really like the food."

Sookie chuckled. "And what did you have for dessert?"

"I made her a coffee," Luke said, purposefully avoiding her innuendo as he focused on eating his breakfast.

"Oh Luke…" Sookie reached over and patted his shoulder. "Oh Luke, Luke, Luke…"

The kitchen door pushed open and Lorelai breezed in a wide smile on her face. "Another wonderful morning, snowed in with twenty seven strangers who are liable to get stir crazy and murder us in our sleep!" she said in a light breezy tone.

Luke whipped his head around to watch her walk across the room, Sookie's hand on his shoulder became heavier and heavier and her fingers dug into his flesh enough to make him wince and look over at her. She was watching him with a sweet smile and nodded over at where Lorelai was fixing herself a coffee. Luke glanced over at where Lorelai was stretching to reach a mug on the top shelf, giving him a glimpse of her bare back as her sweater moved higher and higher the more she reached. He looked back at Sookie whose smile widened and quickly focused back on his breakfast.

"Morning honey," Sookie sang as she release Luke and turned back to Lorelai. "How did you sleep?"

"Really well." Lorelai sipped her coffee and turned to face them. Luke looked down at his porridge and Sookie got mack to making dough. "How about you both?"

"Good." Luke said.

"Like a baby!" Sookie added a dash of flour and started to roll the dough on the counter. "Weather looks like its letting up some."

"It does?"

"It does?"

Both Luke and Lorelai spoke at the same time, and looked out the window then at each other. A soft blush covered her cheeks and she looked away and Luke got back to his breakfast.

"Weather man said today should be the last of it." Neither of the others made a comment. "Power came back this morning," she continued, as if she was talking to herself. "Looks like everything is getting back to normal."

"What a relief," Lorelai muttered as she held her coffee up to her face and turned to look out at the soft snowfall.

"I should go check on the generator." Luke dropped his bowl into the sink then hurried out to the wet room to dress for his short walk over to the shed.

Both Lorelai and Sookie watched him leave in silence until he was no longer visible then turned to each other and smiled. "God help me Lorelai, if you don't give me all the details I'm going to explode!" Lorelai laughed. She crossed the room to her friend and kissed her cheek.

"He cooked me a cheeseburger. I presume I have you to thank for that. And the chili fries."

Sookie giggled and clapped her hands with delight. "How was it?"

"It was amazing." Lorelai's eyes twitched and she sighed as she remembered the taste of the food, the delight in eating it under his scrutiny and his reaction when she let out an audible moan. "That man can cook."

"And?"

"And what?" Lorelai sipped her coffee, frowned at Sookie innocently they looked out of the reach of her swatting hand with a laugh. "And nothing. We chatted."

"Chatted? Thats all?"

"Yeah thats all? What were you expecting?"

"If he didn't swipe clear this counter and take you on it I would be disappointed."

Lorelai let out a loud laugh. "Well be disappointed.

"He didn't even kiss you?"

"There was a-"

"Kiss?"

"A moment."

"Oh…a moment." Sookie's shoulders slumped a little.

"It was a nice moment."

"But not a kiss."

"Will you get your mind out of the gutter for one minute."

"One of us should be in there," Sookie muttered as she refocused back on her dough.

"I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn't."

"Maybe he's married."

"He's not."

"Maybe he's got a girlfriend, or seven wives! Maybe he's a polygamist!"

Lorelai chuckled as she rinsed out her cup and dropped it into the sink. "He's not." She paused by the sink, both hands griping the ceramic edge a little tighter than she realised and her eyes found the shed through the foggy snow. "Maybe he just isn't interested."

"Oh honey!" Sookie was over to her in a flash. "Don't even think that." She rubbed her friends arms and pulled her in for a tight hug. "It's way more likely he's a chicken shit!" Her soft soothing tone made Lorelai laugh and she looked at her friend with a smile.

"Right, I better get my day started." Lorelai took one more look at the shed in the distance before turning on her heel and retreating to her office.

Luke crouched in the shed in front of the generator and fiddled needlessly with the control panel. He had already fixed the generator, and now that the power wayback up, and the snow was letting off, there seemed little need to be hiding out here in the cold anymore. And yet here he had been for the last forty minutes. He had checked the broken window which was still securely covered with a tarp and a board. he had checked the fuel situation and decided they had more than enough for a few more days if needed. He rejoined the grounding plate on the generator and insulated it with tape he found in a tool box but finally when enough was enough, he decided he needed to go back in.

He made his way back to the door and realised only then he had forgotten to prop it open to stop the snow drift from building up. Luke thought it hadn't been snowing that much when he came out, so it should be easy enough to open but due to the corner position of the shed and the door opening out, he found the snow drift had built up enough to block him in. A white hot flash of panic coursed through his body so Luke stepped back from the door and took a few deep breaths. He slowly reached for the handle and tried again, then stepped closer and tried with his shoulder. He stepped back and attempted to kick it open but still nothing moved. He looked around for something that would give him leverage to push the door open but nothing was slim enough to fit under the crack of the door, or strong enough to be able to bear the pressure. He looked at the window Lorelai had climbed out of the other day and knew there was no way his shoulders would fit through that window and he would end up freezing to death half in, half out of this stupid shed. Luke started to rummage through the equipment, looking for a walkie talkie, radio, phone, anything he could use to let them know he was stuck out here, but all he found was spare parts and tools.

"Shit."

Sookie slipped her cakes into the oven and hurried out to the dining room to get a few of the guests. She had arranged a rotating shift for the wait staff who were also snowed in, so they could enjoy some free time, as much as they could anyway, and not have to work day and night, and she took this opportunity to show some of the newer ones how she expected them to wait on guests. Other staff members were busy taking a food inventory though Sookie knew from a quick glance in her pantry that she had enough food for everyone for at least three more days, she needed to keep everyone busy and out of trouble. Already a fight between two of her staff members had to be broken up over fork positions on a table setting, so she knew nerves were frayed enough.

By lunch time she had a smooth running operation again and was ready to serve up sweet potato and butternut squash soup with lemon and garlic toast, as well as the old home favourite of grilled cheese sandwiches. The Inn guests flocked in as the aroma spread around the dining room and drawing room and Sookie sat back to watch her staff dish it out to delighted guests. Lorelai came out of the office with a tired smile on her face and came over to stand by Sookie and watch the lunch service.

"Good news and bad news," she said with a sigh as she leaned against her friend and partner.

"Good news!" Sookie said, wincing as one of her waiters almost spilled a full bowl of soup over one of the guests.

"Roads around town are open again, power grid is secure!"

"Yay!" Sookie clapped her hands a little. "Bad news?"

"It'll be tomorrow at the earliest before they get up here, most likely 2 more days."

"Thats not so bad," Sookie said with a wink and a nudge. "Give you more time."

"Time?"

"To seduce Luke," she said simply as she turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Lorelai started at Sookie's words and watched her leave. "Seduce?" she said as she hurried to catch up with her and grabbed her friends elbow.

Sookie laughed. "Oh please, like you're not thinking it. We're all thinking it!"

"I'm not thinking it!" Sookie looked at her with an single arched eyebrow. "I'm not!" Sookie slowly started to nod her head. "At least, I'm not thinking it right this minute." Lorelai added in a stage whisper and they both giggled. "Wait… where is Luke?"

"Not sure, I think he's still working on those jobs you gave him." Sookie collected a couple of cakes from her pantry and placed them on stands ready to be frosted. "I just hope you wrote down some jobs you actually want him to work on."

"Sookie!" Lorelai said in mock shock with a soft laugh then grabbed a passing waiter. "Will you go find Luke and let him know lunch is ready?"

"Yes ." Lorelai grabbed a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, poured herself a coffee and sat down to eat as she watched Sookie decorate the cakes. She was almost done when the waiter came back looking a little stricken. "I can't find him."

"Hmm?"

"Mr Danes does not appear to be in the inn."

"Did you check his room?"

"I knocked but there was no answer."

Lorelai frowned. "I'll go up and see." She dropped her sandwich and coffee and hurried up to the first floor, her fingers pulling at her keys as she approached his door. "Luke?" she said as she knocked but she didn't wait for a response. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, rushing inside only to find it empty. "Luke?" she called out again, this time checking the bathroom but finding it empty too. She left his room and mentally went over the check list of jobs she had given him and started to explore the hotel in search of him. "Luke?" she called out as she checked various rooms but shortly returned to the kitchen where Sookie was still decorating cakes.

"I can't find him," she said and Sookie immediatly dropped her tools, walked over to her friend and placed a hand on her arm. "Where could he be?"

"When did we last see him?"

"This morning at breakfast, he…" Lorelai looked up at the window and the falling snow. "Oh no, he went out to the shed!"

"That was hours ago!" Sookie watched as Lorelai hurried over to the wet room to grab a coat, hat and scarf. "He must have come back in and we missed him."

"So where is he then?"

"Oliver!" Sookie called out to one of her waiters. "Go with Lorelai out to the shed!"

Without hesitation Oliver wrapped up and hurried after Lorelai who was already crossing the drive to the shed door. She was kicking away at the bank of snow when he arrived, dropped to his knees and helped dig the door out. Lorelai pulled it open a crack "Luke!" she called out but there was no response. "C'mon, stupid snow!" she leaned down and helped Oliver clear it out more then pulled the door open enough to squeeze in as Oliver kept digging.

Luke was huddled in a corner by the back wall, a plastic tarp over his body and his hat pulled down to cover his face. She almost missed him but hurried over as soon as she made him out. "Luke!" She pulled his hat off but his lips were blue with the cold. "Luke, wake up, Luke." she yanked the tarp off him, and grabbed for his hands where were folded on the inside of each opposite sleeve as his arms wrapped around his torso. "Go get help Oliver, we need to get him back tot he Inn, and tell Sookie to run a bath."

Luke's head lolled to the side and Lorelai shuffled her way in beside him, pulling his body practically atop of her, his head resting on the top of her chest as she rubbed his back in an effort to seep some warmth into him. The barrier of his coat was more of a hinderance than anything so she pulled off her glove, unzipped his coat and shoved her hand down the back of his top to her hand could rub against his skin. "Jesus Luke, you're freezing." She rubbed her hand along his back as far down as she could reach, back up to his neck and held his head against her chest with her other hand.

It seemed to take hours for Oliver to return with help and soon they wrapped Luke back up in the tarp he had used himself for protection and carried him to the inn. There was a minor debate about leaving him in the drawing room by the fire, or up to his own bedroom until Lorelai directed them to bring him upstairs. Sookie had prepared a warm bath in his room and was standing over it with soap when the commotion cam bursting through the door.

"Careful!" Lorelai said as they lowered Luke onto the bed. "Take off his boots." she was already tugging on his coat and pulled him up into a seated position to pull it off him. He fell forward and she caught him with a grunt then grabbed the bottom of his shirt and yanked it over his head, then pulled off his tee too. Oliver had taken off his boots and socks and stood back unsure what to do next. "Help me with his jeans." Lorelai tugged on his belt and opened it then the started to shimmy them over his hips. Oliver helped roll Luke side to side until they could pull off his jeans entirely. "Right, lets get him into the water."

Oliver took Luke shoulders and Lorelai lifted his legs and they hefted him into the bathroom and slowly lowered him into the water. Sookie stepped back, still holding the bath foam bottles in her hand, looking worried as Lorelai leaned over the tub and gently moved the water around Lukes body. There was enough room in the bath for him to be almost fully submerged, so she held a hand under his head to keep him afloat.

"Call Doc Shelton, ask him what we need to do!" Lorelai said and immediatly Oliver raced out to Lukes room to grab the phone. "C'mon Luke, wake up, wake up for me." She rubbed her hands over his chest, moving the warm water against his skin wondering if this was even the right thing to do.

"Here, Doc Shelton is on the phone."

Lorelai took the handset Oliver held out. "Hello?"

"Hi Lorelai, helluva weekend you're having out there."

"Yeah."

"Any response?"

"Nothing. His lips are blue, his body is shivering," she rested a hand on the centre of his chest. "His heart is beating really slowly."

"Do you have a thermometer?"

"Um yeah one sec…" Lorelai looked over at Sookie. "Grab the thermometer from the first aid kit in the hall!"

"Any discoloration on his skin?"

"Red in parts, his feet his hands, his nose and cheeks"

"Nothing darker than red, no blackness or ice crystals?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Okay, I think you may have caught this in time."

"I have the thermometer now." Lorelai took it from Sookie and unceremoniously shoved it into Lukes mouth.

"His temp should be no lower than 96, if it is you need to try something other than a warm bath."

"Okay, one sec…" Lorelai took the thermometer back out of Luke's mouth and held it up to the light to read. "94.5"

"94.5? ok, he may have a castoff hypothermia."

"Hypothermia?" Lorelai looked around at Sookie and Oliver.

"Based on what you've told me though, I think its not as severe as it sounds."

"What can I do?"

"Check his pulse."

"Slow, but strong."

"Has his color started to return yet?"

"Yes, his lips have lost the blue color, the rest is still quite red though."

"Okay, get him by a fire, dress him warmly, when he wakes give him warm fluids, something sweet too to keep up his energy levels."

"Okay, and if he doesn't wake?" Lorelai asked.

"He will, I've treated countless cases like this before Lorelai, he will wake very shortly once the shock of the cold has passed."

As if the doctors voice was calling to Luke, his eyes started to flutter open. "Luke! He's awake." The doc chuckled on the other side of the phone.

"Okay, dry him off, get him in front of a fire and feed him lots of warm fluids."

"I will, thanks doc, thanks!" She put the phone down and handed it back to oliver. "Can you get a fire going Ollie?"

"Yes ma'am."

Lorelai returned her focus to Luke and watched as his eyes moved around the room, his lids slowly closing over as he struggled to hold focus. "Hey Luke, relax."

"I'll get a pot of tea going," Sookie said and she hurried out of the room.

"What happened?" Luke muttered, allowing his eyes to close over as he tried to fathom why he was in a bath with Lorelai kneeling beside him and her hand pushing water over his chest.

"You got stuck out in the shed."

"Oh, stupid snow."

Lorelai chuckled. "Yeah, stupid snow." She continued to move the water around him and looked down at her hand on his chest. "You need to get out of the bath now though, and come sit but he fire."

Luke opened his eyes open wide and tried to stay focused. He moved his hands to grip the sides of the tub and tried to stand but his body was weak and he fell back into the water, splashing some of it out over the rim. "Sorry."

"Wait," Lorelai scrambled to her feet and grabbed a large towel to spread out on the floor over the spill. "Okay, c'mon…" She leaned down and helped him hook his arms over her shoulders then together they managed to get him standing. He stepped out fo the tub, heavily leaning on her for support and stood in the bathroom shivering. Lorelai grabbed two more towels, wrapped one around his shoulders and the others around his waist. "Lets get you out to the fire."

Oliver had a roaring fire going and had placed the chair in front of it and Lorelai guided Luke to sit down into it. He sat down with a grunt and felt his reserves of energy deplete and knew it would be a while before he could move again.

"Don't get comfy!" Lorelai ordered as she moved over to the bed. She grabbed the pillows and duvet and dragged them over to the floor by the fire to arrange them into a comfortable surface. "I'll be right back, start drying."

Lorelai and Oliver left the room and she hurried down to the laundry room to grab a change of clothes for Luke. On her way back up to his room she looked down at herself and realised she was soaking wet from his bath also. She detoured to her own room and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve then hurried back to Lukes room where she entered without knocking.

"Here, you need to change into these." She handed him a pair of red and black flannel pj bottoms and a navy henry top.

"Are these yours?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Put them on, get out of them damp towels."

He looked at the clothing she gave him and wondered if he would have the energy to pull them on, then when she went into the bathroom to empty the tub and clean up the mess he realised the alternative was her dressing him and that spurred him on enough to try. By the time she retuned he had pulled on the pj bottoms and was sitting in the chair exhausted, arms too heavy to lift. Lorelai took the damp towels he had been wrapped in and hung them up in the bathroom then returned and grabbed the henley top off him and started to roll it up to slip over his head. He muttered thanks as his arms moved through the arm holes and tugged it down over his chest before slumping back into the chair. His body was still shivering despite his proximity to the fire and his hands has lost their usual dexterity.

"Off the chair, over here," she said as she moved to the blanket arrangement she had made and patted the space beside her where she was sitting cross legged.

Luke took a moment then with a grunt pulled himself off the chair and practically fell onto the blankets beside her. He tried to sit up like her but she pushed him back down and fixed a pillow under his head. "Comfy?" he nodded, though he never felt more strained in his life with her leaning over him like that. "Hands."

"Huh?"

"Give me your hands?" she ordered and held out her own hand to take his. Confused he lifted one hand and she took it in both of hers then started to massage it firmly, rubbing each infer from tip to knuckle across his palm and the back of his hand then dropped that hand and waved for the other. She repeated the motion on the other hand never once taking her eyes off his hands and he watched her features under the flickering fire light.

"Left foot…" she said as she shimmied down to his feet. With only a slight hesitation Luke bent his knee and lifted his foot off the ground and she started a massage there. He's never had a woman rub his feet before and though he knew this was not quite a seductive massage he couldn't help but enjoy the feel of her hands against his skin. But before he could allow himself to settle into it too much there was a soft knock at the door and Sookie entered with a tray. Luke tried to sit up but Lorelai pushed him back down then got up herself to help Sookie.

"How are you feeling Luke?"

"Much better, thanks," he said though he was unable to hide the stammer in his voice.

"Looks like you have your own Florence Nightingale here."

"Yeah, she has been…amazing." the last word came out with a sigh and both women slowly turned to look at him. Luke blushed and looked away.

"Well I gave some tea here, you need to drink it up."

Luke propped himself up on his elbows and took the tea she offered. He sipped it gingerly and reveled in the warm sensation it carried through his body. "Thanks Sookie."

"Left a couple of sandwiches there too, in case you need something. Stay warm!"

Sookie hurried out and Lorelai went back to what she was doing.

"Thanks Lorelai," he stammered through his shivering body. "Its fine though."

"Well I just need your right foot, then we can check your temperature again."

Reluctantly Luke offered her his other foot and she quickly massaged it like the others. When she was done she put his feet back onto the blanket then grabbed another and draped it over him. "Comfy?" He nodded. She grabbed the thermometer and held it out. Luke opened his mouth and took it in, his eyes watching over her as she busied herself with the coffee Sookie had left for her. After a moment she reached for the thermometer and Luke released it.

"95.2."

"Better?"

"A bit." She shook the thermometer and left it aside then retuned her attention him. "You're still shivering."

"A little."

"Roll over," she said and she pushed his shoulder to make him roll over onto his side facing the fire. She grabbed another blanket from the bed and draped it over him then slipped under it and lay up against him.

"You don't need-"

"Move your head," she ordered, ignoring his protest and when he did she slipped her arm beneath it by his neck then curled it around him and pressed him against her. Her other arm came over his side and rested across his stomach, also pulling him back against her. "There, comfy?"

"Mmm hmm." Luke said, not trusting his voice to speak. He tried to relax but the feel of her body pressed against his, her breasts against his back, his ass nestled into her crotch and her hands splayed out on his stomach and chest were making it near impossible. His whole body ached and he still could not control his shivering, though he wasn't sure anymore how much was because of the cold.

When Lorelai felt him shiver against her once more, she moved her one hand lower and slipped it under his top and the other down the neck of his top and pressed her hands against his skin. She rubbed slow circles into his chest and stomach and let her warm breath out against his neck. Luke gritted his teeth to stop his body from reacting but it was no use even trying. He screwed his eyes shut hoping against hope that she wouldn't notice his quickening pulse, his peaked nipples, and thanked what ever god had gotten him into this situation that at least she was the big spoon, to save him from explaining anything else.

Her body heat against his soon had the desired effect and his shivering slowed to barely noticeable shudders. After a while had passed without a shudder Luke moved his head to look over at where Lorelai was lying, only to see her eyes closed. Her hands had stilled against his chest and her grip had slackened and he realised she was asleep. For the first time since she lay back behind him, Luke let out a long breath and felt his body relax against her. He moved his hands to cover hers and hold them in place then let his eyes closed over and followed suit.

Lorelai woke with a sharp pain in her neck and an inability to move. She kept her eyes closed for a minute more as her body tried to catch up with her brain and slowly clocked all the strange sensations she was feeling. She was hot. Too hot. Sweating and could feel dampness across the front of her top. Her hands seemed to be trapped somewhere, somewhere warm, too warm. Her legs were tucked into her blanket, too tight and against a radiator or something equally hot. With a moan she dragged her eyes open and looked right into the back of Lukes head. Lorelai blinked. She took a moment to take it all in and realised what was happening. He was holding her arms around him. His legs had moved and trapped both of hers and he was emitting more heath than a nuclear reactor.

Lorelai let her head fall back to take a deep breath of cool air then slowly started to extract her arms from his grip. Luke moaned in protest and pulled her tighter against him half rolling onto his front and pulling her with him. She gave it a moment then tried again, this time more successful she pulled the arms back that was wrapped around his torso and lay on her back, the other arm still trapped. Slowly she started to slip it out from under his head and it wasn't until it finally emerged that he woke.

Luke felt her hand slip out of his grasp and in his dream addled brain he snatched for it back but when he reached for her shew as gone. Her hand slipped out from beneath him entirely and he rolled over with it to see where it was gone. He was almost surprised to see her lying there at an awkward angle, propped up on one elbow as she shook the blood back into her numb hand. He had half thought it was all a dream but now, seeing her with sleep ruffled hair and rosy cheeks all the sensations of her body against his came flooding back.

"Hey," he said when she didn't seem to notice him watching.

"Luke, hey, how are you feeling."

"Much better."

"Lets take your temperature." She reached over and took the thermometer from where she left it and Luke obligingly opened his mouth for it. After slipping it beneath his tongue she shuffled her position to sit crosslegged beside him and Luke rolled over onto his back. "Right…98.3"

"Back to normal," he muttered.

"We should still get you checked out when we can."

"I'm fine." Luke said and he pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Not the first time Mother nature tried to take a bite out of me."

"You've had hypothermia before?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai shook her head. "Well I've not, nor have I seen it." She busied herself cleaning up the tea and pushing the sandwiches away, avoiding his eyes. "You gave us quite scare mister."

"I bet. Thanks, for all your help. For saving me." Lorelai brushed off his thanks but he grabbed her hand and rested a finger under her chin to make her look up at him. "Don't dismiss it. You really did save me."

"I just dragged you in from the cold and shoved you in a warm bath."

Luke let her words fade and kept his eyes locked on her for a few minutes without moving and just when he thought she was going to move away he leaned forward and kissed her.

Lorelai felt her eyes close over as he moved towards her and her breath caught in her throat, but when she expected to feel his lips on hers, soft but chapped from the cold, instead she felt his lips against her cheek, close to her ear and she released her breath. He pulled back and looked into her eyes again with a soft smile. Lorelai returned it as best she could, then hurriedly scrambled to her feet.

"You should rest a while." She gathered the cups and plates Sookie had dropped in, and stood with a flustered breath. "Rest up, stay warm and we'll see you for dinner if you're feeling up to it."

Luke watched as she scrambled to gather all the things she needed to bring and hurried out of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Lorelai raced down to the kitchen to drop off the stuff, before hurrying back to her room for some solace, ignoring Sookie's protest and attempt to talk to her. Her heart was racing and her brain was trying desperately trying to keep up though it wasn't much use. She stripped out of the sweats she was wearing and jumped into the shower, hoping the hot spray would help ease her tension though all it did was remind her of the feel of his body against hers. The white hot heat, a direct contrast to what she was expecting. Her fingers found that spot where his lips had touched her and she closed her eyes over as a deep blush washed over her.

"Oh god…" she muttered aloud as she wondered if he knew she thought he was going to kiss her. Kiss her properly she added. "Oh god!" she rested her arms on the tiled wall and buried her face in the crook of her elbow as a soft chuckle emerged. "Stupid Lorelai. Stupid, stupid Lorelai." She took a moment to let the blush pass, then straightened up and finished her shower. "It was a thank you kiss, not an I want to jump you kiss," she reasoned as she stepped out of the shower and dried off with a heavy towel. "Thank you for saving my life, not thank you for pressing your body up against mine." she chuckled aloud, wandered into her room and pulled on some underwear then rifled through her clothing for something to wear. Her hands naturally moved towards her usual work attire but before she could grasp the grey trousers, she quickly shifted direction and reached for a black flippy skirt. She loved this skirt and didn't wear it enough, well she admitted, she didn't have enough reason to wear it. She pulled it on and fastened it without trying to think of what reason she had to wear it now. She pushed those negative thoughts aside and reached for a top but again, as her hands moved towards the more sensible work attire she watched as they moved passed them and over to her more fun pieces of clothing. her fingers ran over silk, lace, but she settled for a simple blue long sleeve with a plunging neckline. She applied her makeup and tied her hair up in a half pony tail then slipped into a pair of heels and went downstairs.

In the kitchen Sookie was finishing up dinner service as Lorelai walked in and beelined for the coffee. Sookie immediatly dropped what she was doing, grabbed Lorelai's arm and dragged her into the pantry.

"Sookie, careful!" Lorelai tried to protect her coffee but it was no use, a large dollop dropped onto the floor. Without missing a beat Sookie dropped a towel over it and kept pushing Lorelai until she could close the door behind her. "Sookie, what is it?!"

"I dropped in on Luke to see how he was doing."

"Huh?" Lorelai tried to play dumb, knowing what was coming next.

"And what did I see?"

"I'm not sure." Lorelai sipped her coffee"

"Well I'll tell you what I saw young lady!" Sookie said, barely able to contain her excitement. "I saw you both curled up in front of the fire. Asleep."

"You did?"

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore!" Sookie all but shouted.

"Sookie!" Lorelai responded in shock at the sheer ferocity of Sookie's voice. "Calm down. I fell asleep warming him up. He was shivering. Doc Shelton-"

"Doctor Shelton told you to curl up under a blanket with him?"

"He said I needed to try something different."

"And you took that to mean curl up behind him?"

"I was just trying to…" Lorelai struggled to finish her thought.

"Cop a feel?"

"Sookie, stop!" Lorelai laughed. "Honestly, he was shivering, I just wanted to warm him up." Sookie watched her friend and her expression softened. "How is he?"

"He's good." Lorelai's mind immediatly went back to his kiss and a color tinged her cheeks. She hoped Sookie didn't notice but when she glanced up she noticed her friends shrewd eyes.

"What is it?"

"He kissed me," she blurted out but before Sookie could start jumping around in excitement. "I mean like a peck, on my cheek, like old uncle jerry would give you!"

"Huh?" Sookie looked confused and paused mid clap as she listened to Lorelai.

"I thought he was going to actually really kiss me, but he moved his head and kissed my cheek."

"Huh?" Sookie was still frozen.

"Look, he's just been through a pretty traumatic experience." Lorelai brushed off her fragile ego. "I'm not going to focus too much on a half kiss and instead just try and help him feel better."

"Right." Sookie looked down at Lorelai's skirt and heels, her lack of tights and carefully applied makeup. "Well dinner is about ready. Do you know if he is joining?" She said as she backed away from Lorelai and into the kitchen.

"He might, if he is feeling up to it."

Sookie got back to the dinner clean up. "Do you want me to cook you guys up something?"

"No, no, whatever is going is fine."

"Lasagna and garlic bread."

"Perfect." Lorelai refilled her coffee and sat on the stool as Sookie warmed up a plate for her. They chatted idly about the inn supplies, the guests ability to withstand being cooped up for much longer and Sookie's delight at having a captive audience for all her cooking urges.

"So tomorrow I'm planning an omelette station for breakfast, toasted sandwiches for lunch with tomato soup, and winter chili for dinner."

"Sounds great," Lorelai said as she stirred her coffee.

"If we have to stay another day in here before rescue, I'll have enough for a full days menu but then we'll be cutting it tight.

"Right yeah, sounds tasty."

Sookie looked up at Lorelai and noticed her faraway look. "Hey, honey," she stroked her friends arm. "Hey, where are you?"

"Hmm?" Lorelai curled her hair over her ear. "Sorry, yeah, so they should have the roads cleared by then."

"Oh Lorelai, why are you waiting around for this goof to kiss you?"

"What? I'm not!"

"If you want to kiss him, then just grab him, and kiss him!"

"Its not-"

"Girl, don't you even try to deny it." Sookie said, cutting off Lorelai's protest. "I see the way you looked at his ass." Lorelai shook her head with a smile. She knew her friend was trying to make her laugh and she was annoyed at herself for letting her mood get so low over something as trivial as a missed kiss opportunity. She never let stuff like this get to her before. She enjoyed flirting, she enjoyed teasing, she won some, she lost some, she fought harder for some over others but nothing stuck for very long and she would simply focus her attention back on her work, or Rory for a while. Lorelai sipped her coffee and let her mind wander back through all the interactions she had shared with Luke from the angry introduction to the cheek kiss.

"Here, eat up." Sookie put a plate of food down in front of her and a glass of red wine. "Relax."

Lorelai smiled and picked up her fork to start eating as a soft knock on the door was preceded by Luke slowly pushing the door open.

"Hey," he said timidly, missing her eyes and looking around at Sookie who seemed to be glaring at him.

"Hey Luke." Sookie tossed a towel over her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Thanks."

"I suppose you'll be wanting a bite to eat?"

"Um-"

"Come, sit."

Sookie pointed at the stool next to Lorelai and started to dish out some lasagne for him too. She plated some garlic bread and put it down between them, then without asking poured him a glass of wine.

"So the kitchen is now officially closed." She poured herself a large glass of red wine. "I'm going up to my room for a bath. and I expect not to be down again until breakfast."

"Thanks Sookie." Lorelai said as she watched her friend hang up her apron.

"Ollie will be in later to clean up."

"I can take care of it," Luke said. "Its the least I can do."

"Thanks Luke, I'll let him know. Enjoy!" Sookie said with a flourish and a waggle of her eyebrows before she closed the kitchen door solidly and left a beat of silence in the room in her wake. Luke and Lorelai both looked at each other and smiled tightly before continuing to eat their dinner.

"So, you're feeling ok?" she asked as she took a long drink of wine.

"Yeah I am, thanks to you."

"I see you got the clothes I sent up for you earlier." She added, nodding at the fresh clothing he was wearing.

"Yeah. I'm almost afraid to ask where you are getting this endless supplies of clothing, and how you know my size so perfectly."

Lorelai chuckled and felt some of the tension she was feeling seep out of her limbs. "We have a small clothing store here at the inn for all our guests. With the activities we have at the inn, it often transpires that guest need more clothing than they have packed."

"Activities?"

"Horse riding, trekking, hiking."

"So you just have a stock of clothing available?"

"Well, I make it."

"Wait, what?" Luke dropped his fork which was loaded with food, back onto his plate and turned to face her. "You made this shirt?"

"Yeah."

"And these trousers?"

"Yeah."

"Made them? With your hands?"

Lorelai chuckled. "A sewing machine."

"Wow, I'm impressed." He looked down at his clothing again, then over at Lorelai and back to his clothing before shaking his head and returning his attention to his food. "You keep surprising me."

"I do?"

"Yeah!" he said turning to face her again. "You're…amazing!" he blurted out then looked like he was sorry he said it. But only for a moment. "You are amazing," he repeated. Lorelai was stunned by his words and stared at him wide eyed in wonder. He didn't offer her any further explanation and she wanted to prod him to continue, tell her how he thought she was amazing, but instead she just stared at him, her mouth agape. Too much time had passed and she felt a wave of awkward self consciousness wash over her. Lorelai looked away and went back to eating her dinner.

"So hopefully the roads will be cleared tomorrow," she said.

"Yeah."

"You'll be able to make it back to Stars hollow finally."

"Mmm hmm."

"Have you called about the diner?"

"Yeah I spoke to Tom this morning. Everything is fine. Should be ready for an opening day next week, as long as the food delivery arrives."

"Next week? So soon huh?"

"Not soon enough," he said. "I've been waiting for a long time for this to happen."

"Of course. You must be eager to start the next chapter of your life."

"Yeah, next chapter." He cleared his plate and pushed it aside then finished his wine.

They fell into another silence and when she finished her dinner he took both their plates away and started to clean up the kitchen.

"Hey Luke, you don't need to do that, let me," she said as she approached the sink and went to move him aside.

"Its fine, I want to."

"You should be resting, you've had a helluva day." She tried to move him aside, but he held his ground and she bumped her hip against his. "Luke…"

"Back off Lorelai," he warned and he bumped her back with his hip. "I got this." He glared at her, but with a slight smile curving the corner of his lips so she held up her hands in defeat and backed off. Luke focused on cleaning up and Lorelai poured them each another glass of wine. When he was through he walked over and leaned against the counter next to her. He reached for his wine and sipped it. "So did you always want to run your own inn?"

"No, I can't say it was something I was dreaming about when I was a kid but certainly as an adult." She sipped her wine and looked up to see him watching her patiently, waiting for her to continue. "I really fell into the industry. Single mother, homeless, no education past high school, no money, no where to go…" Luke watched her carefully as she spoke, her tone light but even he knew her well enough to see through it. "The previous owner of the inn took me in, offered me a job, gave me a roof and basically opened her arms for me and Rory. She saved my life."

"The previous owner of this inn?"

"Yeah. Mia. She moved down to Florida a few years ago and myself and Sookie bought the Inn off her."

"Wow."

"Yeah." Even Lorelai couldn't detract from the achievement. "We made a few changes, added some activities and modernized the rooms a little, enough for comfort, but not so much that it took away from what was so attractive about the inn. And voila, the Dragonfly Inn was reopened."

"You did a wonderful job."

"Thank you." Lorelai looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time. "I really am proud of it. Other than Rory, its the best thing I've ever done."

Luke chuckled. "Well I haven't met Rory yet, but I bet she is something else." Lorelai looked away and a shiver of delight rippled through her at his mention of the word "yet" like he had already been thinking about them keeping in touch. She shook her head and tried to get out of her own head. His diner was only twenty miles away. It wasn't like he was going to be in another state. She was sure to see him again. She was going to make sure she did. Even if it was just going to be for a cup of his coffee. "Its strange…" he spoke softly as he came around the corner and took a seat on the other stool. He lifted his wine and sipped it before he put the glass back on the counter and pushed it away.

"What is?" She couldn't help but ask, even though she knew he was going to keep talking.

"I just met you a few days ago."

"Three days."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "And I feel like I've known you for years." For a second Lorelai's heart dropped. She thought he was going to say she felt like a sister to him and in that nanosecond it took for that thought to form, all the other confusing moments fell into place, especially his reluctance to kiss her. "I can't explain it…I don't usually…connect…with anyone."

"Connect?"

"I mean, I guess you probably noticed… I'm not very good with…people."

"You're not?"

"No," he chuckled again. "You didn't notice?"

"I may have divined it from what you told me about yourself."

"What I said?"

"Spending a week alone in a cabin in the woods on the side of a mountain was a pretty big sign you don't love company."

"Well yeah, I guess."

"And then watching you during the reception I could tell you were certainly not very comfortable."

"You were watching me?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Looking out for you, not just you, the guests, all the guests, like any good host would."

"Right yeah," he watched her for a moment more. "As I was saying…I'm usually slow to connect."

"With women."

"People," he quickly corrected her. "But not with you."

"No?"

He looked over at her and waited for her eyes to clash with his. "No." He held her gaze for a minute more and Lorelai waited. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for. For him to make a move? To get enough courage to make her own move? For him to walk away? Oh god, why wasn't he saying or doing anything? She felt a bubble of tension gurgle up inside her and she felt like she was about to burst.

Luke watched her and could almost feel the internal conflict coming off her in waves. It was all he could do not to grab her and kiss her. Kiss her conflict away, or at the very least give her something substantial to feel conflicted about. But already, in the short time he had known her, he was sure he wouldn't be able to keep up with her. Small town diner owner vs highly successful and driven Inn owner. What could he possibly offer her? Free coffee refills? Luke felt his breath release and started to move his eyes away.

Lorelai watched him carefully, saw something cross his face and noticed his shoulders slump just a little. Just enough for her to notice the change in his demeanor. His eyes broke contact with hers and with only the briefest of glimpses to her lips he looked away. Before he could move off the stool she grabbed his shoulder and turned him back to face her. In what was definitely not her most graceful move she pulled him forward and planted her lips against his.

Luke froze. His eyes opened wide, his hands gripped the edge of the counter and his lips remained unmoving pressed against hers. Her hands gripped his shoulders, her right hand digging into his tender left shoulder but not causing enough pain to detract from the warm sensation of her soft, wet, lips against his. And then as quickly as it had started it was over. With a squeeze of his shoulders she pushed him away and their lips parted with an audible smack. She held him at arms length away from her and watched his expression change from one of shock, to a small predatory smile. Without saying a word he turned on his stool to face her more fully, and slid to the edge to drop his legs between hers.

"You kissed me." It wasn't a question. It was somewhere between a statement and an acknowledgement and Lorelai wondered briefly if it was a warning. His hands moved to her waist, and one gripped her hip while the other moved up her back to pull her towards him. It curled over her shoulder and around her neck to cup her head as he stood up off the stood, crowded her personal space and held her there for a split second before he lowered his head and kissed her.

This time he was ready and willing, though he was quite willing the previous time too. His lips pressed against her, demanding a response and when he felt her head move a touch to the side, he parted his lips and allowed his tongue to slowly brush across her lips. She responded with a soft gasp and opened her mouth to allow him entry. Her fingers gripped the edge of his shirt, a white knuckle grip to hold him in place as much as to stop her from falling. The hand on her hip squeezed her and pulled her even closer to the edge of her stool forcing her skirt higher and exposing more of her thigh than she thought she had ever done in this kitchen.

Luke's tongue was warm and wet, as he made confident sure strokes inside her mouth, demanding a response which she was helpless to refuse. His lips were soft against hers in contrast to the firm grip his hands had on her and it took a moment for Lorelai to catch up and realise she didn't need to be a pliant participant in this. Her hands released his shirt and moved up his chest, her palms flat against his broad shoulders she pulled him against her and arched her back into him making him break the kiss and moan against her lips.

"We should…" he began, his lips still on her, not quite yet willing to break contact.

"Go upstairs." she finished for him.

Luke pulled back and looked down at her as if trying to decide he had heard her properly. Lorelai smiled up at him coyly, then pushed him away from her, jumped off the stool, grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the kitchen. Luke followed, allowing her to take him up to his room where she unlocked the door, pulled him inside and slammed it closed behind him. The fire was still smoldering from earlier, soft embers casting a glow around the room and Lorelai barely took the time to notice that he had left the bedding in front of it too.

"You sure?" he asked but she didn't care to respond with her vast vocabulary, instead she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in for another kiss. As if it was something they had been doing for years, Luke's hands gripped her hips, slid around to her back and held her against him as her tongue explored his mouth. One of her hands buried into his hair while the other stroked small circles into the small of his back, until with an impatient grunt she tugged his shirt out of his trousers and pressed her hand against his warm skin.

Luke moaned at the skin contact and felt his hips thrust towards her, propelling her back towards the bed. She took the hint and continued the journey until her legs hit the mattress and she dropped down with an ompf. Luke chuckled and followed her down but her hands had already moved to his trousers where she was tugging his belt open.

"Wait…I…" He tried to protest, slow down her movements but she looked up at him with a wide smiled as she pulled the soft leather out of the buckle and reached for the button on his trousers and he was at a loss. He wanted to reach over, pull off her top, press his hands, hell his lips, against her creamy soft skin but something was holding him back. This was all so fast. "Lorelai-" he started to protest as she pulled down his zipper but as her hands slid into his pants bypassing the soft cotton of his boxer briefs, all thoughts dissipated.

"I want you…" she whispered and Lukes eyes shot to hers, which were half closed over as her hand moved slowly but firmly against him.

Luke grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away then propelled her back against the bed and held her hand high above her head. He snatched her other hand and held them together then used his free hand to push her top up. She moaned when he touched her, moved her hips against his chest in an open declaration of her need and Luke did his best to salve her. He delighted in the fact that she wasn't wearing any tights and in a frenzied need to be with her pulled her panties aside and entered her swiftly. Lorelai responded with a guttural moan that curled his toes as he moved against her. There was no finesse in his movements, his hips jerked as he struggled to find a rhythm and not make a fool of himself but she seemed to respond to everything he did so he just kept doing it until her body shuddered around him, punctuated by a breathy moan. He lay atop of her panting, trying to catch his breath realizing his shoes were still on, his trousers around his ankles and her skirt was bunched around her waist with her top just about covering her breasts.

"Let me get off you…"

"No!" She said sharply and Luke looked at her with a frown. "Not yet, just…wait…" Lorelai closed her eyes over again and tried to record all the different sensations she was feeling. His head resting on her shoulder, his chest breathing against hers, crushing her breasts with every inhalation, his crotch nestled against hers as he filled her so deliciously and the coarse hairs on his thighs rubbing against her inner thighs as she held him in place against her. After a moment she opened her eyes and saw him watching her. "Okay, you can move now." Luke smiled and kissed her cheek then slowly started to move off her, peeling himself away as he stood. For a second he wasn't sure what he should do, as he stood there in his shirt, with his trousers around his ankles. Should he dress? Undress? What was she expecting? Would she be leaving now? Was this a once off? Perhaps he wasn't the first guest she had bedded here? Luke shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts and reached down for his trousers, if at the very least to feel less awkward. Lorelai stretched across his bed then stood and started to fix her skirt and he realised she was about to leave.

"Lorelai…" he said and he reached out to take her hand but before he could grab her he watched as she undid the side fastening of her skirt and dropped it to the floor. She looked up at him with a wicked smile as her thumbs hooked into the side of her panties and she shimmied her hips to lower them enough until they could fall on their own. Luke's hands froze as he held his pants up and watched as she grabbed the edge of her top and slowly pulled it off over her head. She dropped the clothing in a pile then brushed past him to the bedding that was still laid out by the fire and lay down. Luke kicked off his shoes, dropped his trousers, pulled off his shirt and joined her.

* * *

 **A/N** : I actually had a full on ridiculously smutty sex scene written for this part before I remembered the rating I put on this story and changed it. Let me know if this scene is ok under this rating. _And if y'all are interested, I'll post the smut in a separate accompanying fic_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N** : Delayed update, I flew into London for the weekend and left my fic as a local copy on my home pc...for shame! Anyway, here ya go.

* * *

Luke woke, to an empty room.

His body ached in that delicious way only a woman could cause in him, and he stretched out all his limbs, slowly, carefully, methodically remembering each and every time she touched him, kissed him, licked him, bit him. Luke chuckled and looked over at his right shoulder where a slightly reddened spot was still visible from where she has sunk her teeth into him. His fingers brushed over the skin there and he smiled as the memory took hold. He felt himself stir and wished she was still lying next to him. He had fallen asleep with her curled up against him, her head on his chest, her breasts pressed soft and warm, pressing into his ribs, one leg over his thighs, one hand on his stomach. He didn't stir when she left and wondered how long it had been since she did sneak out. He moved to sit up and had to smile at the aches he felt. His shoulder throbbed, his head was spinning a little, like he had one too many to drink and was now paying for it.

Luke stood and stretched as much as his weary limbs would allow and trudged over to the shower. The powerful spray helped to ease any discomfort he was feeling and he dried off and dressed quickly, eager to go downstairs, eager to get some food, eager to… Luke sat up from tying his shoe lace and couldn't help the smile that curved his lips. Eager to see her again. He checked himself in the mirror and needlessly dusted down the front of his clothing before taking a deep breath and leaving his room.

With every step he took down the long hallway, down the stairs and towards the kitchen, his stomach did a back flip, until he finally pushed the door open and felt like he was going to vomit. He swallowed around a lump in his throat and glanced around the room, unsure if he was relieved or not to see it empty. He stood in the kitchen for a moment, unsure of whether he should help himself or not when Sookie came bustling in from the dining room.

"Luke, you're up."

"Morning Sookie."

"I've set up an omelette station in the dining room if you'd like one. Otherwise there is a batch of porridge on the stove, you should help yourself."

"Thanks," he said as he moved over to the porridge and lifted the lid.

"How did you sleep?" she asked as she was half in half out of the fridge, her leg sticking out behind her for balance.

"Fine. Yeah, great. Why?" He whipped his head to look over at her.

"Huh?" Sookie emerged with a large bowl of grated cheese. She seemed distracted and Luke cleared his throat to keep his nerves in check.

"Nothing, yeah, slept fine."

"Good, good." She started to make her way back out to the dining room. "Help yourself. You know where everything is."

"Sure. Thanks. Bye!" Sookie glanced at him with a frown as she left and Luke covered his face with both hands when the door closed behind her. He grabbed a bowl and spooned out some porridge then sat at the counter with a sigh. When the door behind him opened he perked up and looked around but it was only the wait staff returning dishes.

He ate slowly, idly stirring his food now and then but no matter how long it took him, she never appeared. Knowing he couldn't delay his breakfast any longer he rinsed out his bowl and left the kitchen. He walked through the dining room, where Sookie was cheerfully chatting with guests as she made omelettes to order. She waved at him as he passed by and he offered her a tight smile and a nod, but quickly continued on his way. Her found himself in the drawling room, crouched before the fire. He added a couple more logs and settled them in place before moving over to the couch and planting himself down with a sigh.

"Well thats a defeated sigh if ever I heard one."

Luke looked behind him and saw Lorelai standing behind the couch, her hands resting on the back of it. She looked down at him with a smile, her hair curly and loose around her face and Luke felt his heart trip. "Hey." was all he could manage before he cleared his throat, sat up and tried again. "Morning."

Lorelai smiled and came around to his side of the couch. He moved aside to make room for her but she didn't sit down.

"I just got off the phone with the police." Luke sat forward, feeling at a disadvantage with her standing over him like that. "They are clearing the roads, but it will be tomorrow, at about noon when they get up here."

"Tomorrow." He watched her carefully.

"Yeah." She brushed her hair behind one ear and crossed her arms over her chest. "So one more night."

"One more huh?"

"Then you'll finally be free." She laughed nervously. "Well not just you, everyone."

"Yeah, free. Finally."

"I know, its been quite a hardship." She rolled her eyes.

"You can say that again." he looked away and let his eyes fix on the flames across the room.

"Anyway, one more night."

"Great."

A silence filled the room. Lorelai dropped her hands and slapped her thighs. "I better go tell Sookie."

"Right, yeah."

She left quickly, her heels beating her retreat and Luke fell back against the couch. "One more night," he muttered. She kept saying that. What did she mean. One more night for them to sleep together? One more night for them to get it out of their system? One more night for him to fulfill his need? Was this just a fling for her? Luke looked over at the door she had exited through and it was all he could do not to chase her, grab her and shake the answers out of her but instead he rolled his head back and closed his eyes over. What if it was just a fling? Would he fight for her? He hardly knew her. Luke's eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling.

He knew her better than he knew most people after four days. He had told her more things about himself, than he told nearly all of the women he dated. Would he take what she had to offer and be satisfied with that? Luke thought back to her skin. Creamy, soft, warm, skin that felt like butter under his touch. His hands resting on the curve of her waist when she straddled him, felt like this was the place they had belonged their whole lives and he never wanted to move them. Would he fight? Yes. Luke's eyes opened and he grabbed the edge of the couch to propel himself up. Yes, he bloody well would fight.

Lorelai breezed through the dining room, greeting guests and informing them of the road clearing update. A few cheered and clapped and Elsie jumped up and hugged her. Lorelai returned the hug then made her way into the kitchen for a coffee. Sookie was at the counter chopping mushrooms for another batch of omelettes and as Lorelai walked in she greeted her with a wide smile.

"Just off the phone with five-oh. Looks like we'll be free and clear by noon tomorrow."

"Great!" Sookie exclaimed and she watched her friend make her coffee. "So?" she prompted, but Lorelai focused on grabbing her drink. "Honey?"

"Hmm?"

"So help me, Lorelai, I have a really sharp knife, don't mess with me!"

Lorelai chuckled and held up one hand in defeat as she leaned back against the counter and sipped her coffee. "You asking about Luke?"

"Yes!" Sookie all but shouted. "Please tell me he kissed you."

"He did."

Sookie squealed and started to clap with excitement, remembered she had a large knife, dropped it onto the counter and then clapped. Lorelai laughed as she came over to take a high stool next to her friend. "And then what happened?"

"Sookie-"

"Lorelai!"

"We went up to his room."

"Ohhhhhh!" Sookie's clapping was accompanied by a little tap dance. "On the rug? By the fire?" Lorelai blushed and looked down at her code and Sookie danced over. "Oh honey, tell me everything!"

"Sookie, no!"

"Lorelai, I need the details so I can live vicariously through you."

"I'm not giving you any details."

"Well at least tell me if it was good."

"It was good. Great, it was great." Lorelai's eyes lost focus as she remembered his arms wrapped tightly around his waist as his head bowed against her chest and he licked-

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sookie grabbing her shoulder. "So what does this mean?"

"Mean?" Lorelai frowned. "What do you mean? It doesn't mean anything."

"So you're not like… a thing?"

"A thing?" Lorelai looked back to her coffee and lifted it for a sip to stall responding. Truth was, she didn't know what it meant. Neither she nor Luke had brought it up. No longevity was discussed. This was a spur of the moment reaction to fulfilling a need they both felt. That was it. Right?

"So it was a fling. Not a thing."

"A fling?" Lorelai look flustered and tried to ignore the sensation she felt in her chest. "it was just…fun."

Sookie watched her friend under hooded eyes and tried to decipher what was going on in her head. Lorelai wasn't usually someone to do something just for fun. Regardless of the breezy nature she portrayed, nearly every move she made was carefully calculated and over thought. But she recognized the struggle in her friend and backed away. She reached out and squeezed Lorelai's shoulder and winked at her with a smile then returned to the mushrooms. She tossed them in a bowl and carried them back out to the dining room where she almost barged into Luke.

"Luke, gosh, you scared me." He had been standing behind the door, one hand poised to open it when she crashed into him. "Lorelai is just in there if you are looking for her." Sookie said as she brushed past him to get to the omelette station.

"Actually, I was looking for you."

"Me?"

"Lorelai told me about the roads getting cleared tomorrow," he said and he followed her over to the omelette station.

"Yeah, great news huh?"

"Yeah. Great." Luke shoved both hands in his back pockets and rocked back on his heels. "So I was wondering if you would let me make dinner tonight."

"Make dinner?" Sookie seemed confused. "Oh you mean for Lorelai again?" She waggled her eyebrows with a smile.

"No!" Luke said too forcefully and Sookie frowned. "For you, for the guests, for everyone."

"Make dinner for my guests? In my kitchen?" Now Sookie was frowning but for a very different reason. She turned to face him with both hands on her hips.

"You've done so much for me, for everyone. I really just want to thank you and this looks like my last night here, so I want to make you dinner."

Sookie eyed him up shrewdly. She tried to determine if he had an alternative motive but nothing seemed to spring to mind. "And what would you make?"

"I think Lorelai said you were planning a chili for dinner. Let me make it."

She studied him for a minute more then slowly started to nod her head. "Okay, sure." Luke smiled. "I trust you won't burn the place down."

"Thanks Sookie." Luke leaned in and kissed her cheek before walking away.

Lorelai spent the day talking with guests, arranging travel for when the roads would be cleared. She sorted out laundry, making sure everyone would have their items returned before the end of day and without trying too hard, she had managed to avoid Luke all day. In the afternoon she wandered into the kitchen for a coffee and stopped short at the sight of Luke chopping tomatoes on the centre counter with Sookie sitting on the end, sipping a glass of red wine. Sookie was laughing and Luke was trying to focus but he was smiling and shaking his head.

"So I was carrying this massive pot of gazpacho through the kitchen and I realised it is cold."

"Cold? But it was Gazpacho?" Luke glanced up with a frown.

"And I thought, oh no, I can't serve cold gazpacho!" Sookie put her hands on her face in mock horror.

"Oh no, what did you do?" Luke tried to focus on his food and he pushed the tomatoes aside and grabbed some garlic.

"I put it on the stove, low heat, and cooked it for twenty minutes."

"Oh god…" Luke laughed loudly. He stood up straight and let his head fall back to laugh some more. Lorelai couldn't take her eyes off him, from her vantage point just behind the door.

"I was chuffed with myself, and went to tell the head chef about the mistake I had found and fixed." Sookie sipped her wine and released a deep sigh. "And…I was fired."

"Fired?" Luke looked over at her, his eyebrows arched in surprise.

"On the spot." Sookie sipped her wine and smiled over at him. "It was the first time I got fired for a kitchen misdemeanor. But not the last."

"No?" Luke gathered the spices he needed and added them to a small bowl.

"I've been working in kitchens for nearly twenty years. Its been mainly trial and error." She sipped her wine and watched Luke's easy movement around the kitchen as he prepared the ingredients for the chili.

"You're making me nervous." He added a splash of oil to the pan then went to the fridge for the minced beef. "You've got so much experience, and you still ended up on the chopping block as it were. Here I am with no experience, and I'm putting every thing I own into a diner."

"You'll be fine. Lorelai said how good your dinner was the other night."

"She did?" he glanced over at her, trying not to show how pleased he was.

"Yeah, and not just the food, but the coffee she said was good enough to make her want to bear your children." Sookie carefully watched him as she spoke and didn't miss the deep blush that crept up his neck.

Lorelai chose that moment to interrupt as she pushed the door open and breezed in trying to appear nonchalant. "Oh hey," she said cheerily as she beelined for the coffee machine. "Whats goin on?"

"Luke is making dinner."

"Huh?" she turned to look at Luke who was adding the beef to the pan. "You're making dinner? For who?" Was that a spike of jealousy she felt rear up and in the few seconds that passed before he answered she imagined him sitting next to Lucy McCormack, feeding her and sharing a bottle of wine. Lucy and Luke, Luke and Lucy. Dammit but that sounded good.

"For everyone." He spoke without turning around, instead focused on moving the beef around the pan.

"Everyone?" Lorelai shook her head to rid herself of those treacherous thoughts.

"Luke is making chili for the guests." Sookie sipped her wine and moved one stool over and gestured for Lorelai to sit down.

"Luke, you don't need to-"

"I wanted to." he said, cutting off her protests as he reached for the spices he had prepared earlier. "Its the least I could do, after everything you, I mean, you and Sookie have done for me." He glanced over at them both but quickly turned back to his chili.

Sookie nudged Lorelai when he turned away, and she waggled her eyebrows. Lorelai frowned and shook her head. Sookie nudged her again and jerked her head towards Luke and waggled her eyebrows again. Lorelai's frown deepened and she shocked her head mouthing the word "No!". Sookie's smiled turned into pouted lips as she made kissing motions and Lorelai slapped her arm with the back other hand as her tongue appeared to lick her lips. Sookie rolled back on her stool almost falling off and Lorelai reached for her to pull her back. Luke turned to see what the commotion was and Lorelai steadied Sookie against her with an arm over her shoulder as Sookie gripped the edge of the counter. They both smiled at him, making him frown and turn back to his chili. Sookie elbowed Lorelai in the ribs making her yelp.

"If you two aren't going to behave, you should leave," he said over his shoulder.

"Are you kicking me out of my own kitchen?" Sookie stood, and slammed her hand down on the counter with indignation. Luke turned to see if she was being serious then grabbed the bottle of wine by the cooker, tossed a splash of it into the chili before he went over and put it between them.

"Go relax in the drawing room with this." He turned without waiting for a response and focused on his chili as Lorelai and Sookie exchanged glances.

Sookie grabbed the bottle and two glasses then nudged Lorelai and left. Lorelai followed but lingered by the door, pausing to turn back and watch him for a moment. Luke could see her from the corner of his eye and it took all of his willpower to refrain from looking over at her. When the door closed after her he felt his shoulders slump and his breath pushed past pursed lips. He glanced up to be sure she was gone then gripped the edge of the counter with both hands and dropped his chin to his chest.

"One more night," he muttered and returned his focus to making chili.

In the drawing room Sookie and Lorelai snuggled up on the couch sharing a bottle of wine. Various guests were scattered around the room, Brendan and Elsie waltzed slowly in the corner next to the record player that was playing a soft jazz tune. The newly weds were snuggled on a large armchair flipping through a photo book. One of the wait staff manned the room, offering mulled wine and sugar cookies Sookie had cooked earlier.

"We pulled through," Sookie said as she looked around the room and a wash of contentedness claimed her.

"Huh?"

"This Christmas calamity." Sookie looked over to Lorelai who was staring at the fire with a faraway look in her eyes. "We pulled through."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah we did." Lorelai looked over at Sookie and smiled before turning back to the fire.

"You ok, sweetie?"

"Hmm? Yeah. Just looking forward to a break."

"One more night," Sookie said as she sipped her wine, not realizing she was mirroring the words already circling around Lorelai's mind. An uneasy silence fell between them and Sookie waited a moment before breaking it. "Hey," she said and she squeezed Lorelai's hand. Lorelai looked over at her best friend, smiled, this time letting it reach her eyes and she moved her head to rest on Sookie's shoulder.

"I miss Rory," Lorelai muttered though Sookie knew that was a diversion.

"Lets do a Christmas dinner when she gets here."

"No." Lorelai squeezed Sookie's hand. "You deserve the break as much as anyone, more! We'll order Chinese food, we'll eat on the couch, watch Miracle on 34th Street and afterward we can swap gifts."

Sookie chuckled. "Okay, that sounds wonderful." She paused, let the silence wrap them in a cocoon before speaking softly. "Maybe we can invite Luke." She felt Lorelai tense next to her and waited for her to speak, but she didn't. "I mean he's new in town-"

"Sookie-"

"He's been injured-"

"Sookie-"

"He didn't get to have a Christmas really-"

"Sookie, stop!" Lorelai hissed and she pushed up away from her friend.

"I'm just saying."

"Well don't. Luke doesn't want to spend fake Christmas with us, eating Chinese food."

"How do you know?"

"Just leave it!" Lorelai pushed her hair back off her face and dropped her hands between her knees. "He's got his diner, he's not interested in hanging around here."

"Oh honey," Sookie sat forward and rested a hand on Lorelai's back. "You're an idiot."

Lorelai started at the words, not quite the soothing remark she was expecting. "What?"

"If you think he wouldn't drop everything and run to you, you're an idiot."

"Sookie, you don't even know him. I don't even know him. He doesn't know us."

"No, but I know that look in his eyes when he looks at you." Lorelai shook her head and turned back to the fire. "Anyway…did you ask him?"

"Ask him? Ask him what? To spend fake Christmas with us?"

"Ask him what he wants."

"No," Lorelai admitted with a soft sigh. "I didn't."

"Well then. Less moping, more action please!" Sookie sat back triumphant and sipped her wine.

"What time are we having dinner?"

"Luke said it should all be ready at seven."

Lorelai glanced at her watch and saw there was about an hour and a half to go before everyone would gather for Luke's chili. She slapped her hands on her knees and stood. "I'm going to my room."

"Honey?" Sookie stood with her and touched her elbow. "I'm sorry, I was just teasing."

"No, its fine Sookie. I just need to rest my eyes." She squeezed her friends arm then turned and hurried up to her room. Lorelai undressed and went straight for the shower. She stayed under the spray until her skin wrinkled and even then, a little longer. She wrapped her hair in a towel and dried herself off with another before crossing the room to her bed and collapsing star fish on her front across it and slept.

Luke added the finishing touches to his chili and gave it a final stir before turning off the heat and putting the lid back in place. He pulled the baked potatoes out of the oven and carefully pulled the foil back on one to test their readiness. Satisfied he turned off the open and tossed the potatoes into a large bowl ready for serving. From another pot he spooned spanish rice into a bowl and put that aside and he moved over to the corn bread he had cooling on a rack and started to slice it up into large chunks. With everything ready for service he went out to the dining room where the wait staff was clearing off a buffet table ready or his food. He signaled that all was ready for set up and stepped back as they carried all the food out to the table then set up a collection of condiments meant to compliment the food.

Sookie came in just as the last of the food was in place and squealed and clapped in delight at the sight of it all. She hurried over to Luke and grasped him in a tight hug. "This looks wonderful."

"Thanks."

"And it smells delicious." She leaned over the chili and lifted the lid enough to inhale the powerful aroma. "Are we ready to go? Should I call everyone in?"

"Yeah, all ready."

Luke stepped back as Sookie signaled for the waiters to let everyone in the hotel know dinner was served. Slowly the guests came ambling in and took in the buffet table with interest. They quickly formed a queue and took their plates to their tables. Soon the room was filled with excited chatter as everyone tucked in and Sookie came over to Luke with two plates ready.

"C'mon," She nudged him as she walked by and led him over to a corner table. "I'm dying to try this chili." She grabbed a fork and before Luke had even settled in his seat, she was tasting it. She closed her eyes over as the flavors exploded on her tongue. Her moan made Luke look up and he tried not to blush. "Luke…oh my god…"

"Good?" he asked as he ate a forkful himself.

"Good? This is spectacular."

"Thanks," he said, pleased with her reaction.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" she asked as she unwrapped her baked potato and spooned the chili over the top of it.

"My mom taught me when I was growing up. Mainly pies."

"You can make pie?"

Luke chuckled. "Yeah, all kinds. I love making pie."

"And from pie, to chili, to cheeseburgers."

"Yeah pretty much." Luke ate more chili. "My dad had simple tastes. He loved chili. He loved cheeseburgers. He loved pie."

Sookie let his words settle around them and reached out to pat his hand. "Well I'm not surprised with how well you make them. You're mom taught you well."

"Thanks."

Sookie released his hand and they both ate in silence for a while. She nudged him when she saw some guests go up for seconds. "Looks like its a success."

"Yeah," Luke turned back to his dinner and finished then pushed his plate aside and sat back in his chair. "Thanks for letting me do this, Sookie." he said as she finished her own.

"No problem. You can make me dinner any time!"

Luke chuckled and looked around the room to see most guests finishing up, others finishing up seconds. "Well, no one died, and I didn't burn down your kitchen."

"A winning night all round," Sookie said with a smile and lifted her wine to him before taking a sip. "Now you go relax, I'll take care of the clean up."

"No, no," he started to gather their plates but Sookie slapped his hands away.

"Luke, please, don't argue with me on this." He lifted his hands in defat and sat back in his chair as she lifted the plates and brought them into the kitchen. When she returned she had another plate laden with food and some cutlery rolled up in a napkin. "Take this up to Lorelai."

"Huh?" he took the plate she was pressing into his chest.

"She went upstairs earlier and I bet she fell asleep." Sookie lifted him out of the chair and was pushing him towards the stairs. "She gets hangry when she misses a meal. So take this up to her."

"Her room? I don't know what room she is in…" Luke said as he stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"107." Sookie gave him a final push towards the stairs. "She keeps the door unlocked!" she added as she turned on her heel and hurried back to the kitchen.

Luke looked up the stairs and hesitated only a moment more before slowly climbing up.

"107…107…107…" he muttered and he glanced at his own room, 106, as he passed then stood in front of her door, his hand lifted and poised to knock. He sucked in a breath and knocked softly, waiting in silence for a response but there was none. He knocked again, this time louder but still there was no reaction. He looked down at the door handle and Sookie's parting words rang around in his head. He turned the handle and found it was unlocked then slowly pushed the door open. The room was pitch black. No fire to cast a soft light, no lamp lit and the curtains had been pulled closed to remove even a sliver of moonlight. Luke took a moment to adjust to the darkness and slowly moved forward to where he thought the table would be, based on his own room. Sure enough, his leg bumped against a coffee table. He carefully put down the plate then straightened up and tried to sense if she was in the room.

"Lorelai?" he said softly and wondered if he was really trying to wake her up or not. He moved over towards the bed, or rather where he thought the bed would be. When his knee knocked against the mattress he reached down to be sure it was the bed and his fingers brushed against her heated skin. "Lorelai?" his fingers probed further and he realised he was touching her ankle. He heard a sleepy moan from further up the bed and he turned towards the sound but kept his hand on her leg, his fingers wrapping around her hot skin almost meeting on the other side.

Lorelai slowly came too and went to roll over onto her back when she felt something on her leg and a presence at the side of the bed. "Jesus!" she yelled out as she kicked her legs out and scrambled up to the head of the bed. "Who's there!" she yelled out as she grabbed a pillow across her chest and fumbled on her nightstand for the lamp, all the while still flaying her legs about.

"Lorelai, Lorelai, stop, its me."

She stilled in the darkness as that voice filtered though her panic. "Luke?"

"Yeah, its Luke."

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked and she sat forward a little, unknowing leaning towards his voice.

"I brought you dinner, Sookie said to bring you dinner, I brought some chili…"

"You brought me dinner? What time is it?"

"Could you um turn on the light?" he said, tired of speaking into the utter darkness.

"Oh yeah…" She reached for the lamp and flicked it on then sat back against the head board, blinking her eyes rapidly against the bright light as Luke did the same then turned to see her sitting naked on the bed, a towel wrapped around her hair and a pillow loosely resting against her chest.

"Um, Lorelai…" he looked away and she followed his eyes to see what he was pointing out then realised why he had looked away.

"Shit!" she reached over to the lamp and switched off the light, plunging them both back into sheer darkness.

"Sorry, I should um…" Luke moved to walk away as Lorelai jumped off the bed. He flaying legs kicked him in the shin and he bent forward with a grunt to grab his leg, as she moved off the mattress and stood up making Luke's head clash against her bare chest. She grabbed his shoulders to steady herself from falling back and his hands moved to her thighs to stop himself from propelling her back onto the bed. They both held still and the only sound was her soft breathing. Luke's breath burned his lungs as he realised his mouth was next to her nipple but when he couldn't hold it any longer he let it out in a soft warm exhale and he felt her shudder against him.

"Luke…" she gasped, his name carried into the darkness. Her hands gripped his shoulders tighter and his moved up from the back of her thighs over the curve of her ass as he stood up to his full height, his hands finding a resting point at the small of her back, his fingers over the rise of her ass.

In the darkness they both stilled. The sounds of their shallow breathing, was the only thing either could hear, though Luke was sure she could hear his heart banging in his chest. He wasn't sure which of them moved first, and he didn't care when he felt her tongue exploring his mouth with a soft curling stroke. Luke tightened one arm around her waist and the other came up her spine to grip her shoulder and pulled her against him even closer. Her legs moved and he slipped one of his between them as he tipped his head to deepen their kiss. She started to pull him back to the bed and at first he whimpered at the slight loss of contact then grunted with satisfaction when he fell against her onto the soft bed.

His hands were everywhere. Lorelai felt like he had more than two hands as she felt them against her hips, breasts, shoulders, buried in her hair, over the curve of her ass and along the back of her thigh as he lifted her leg against his hip so he could rest against her in the most delicious way. Her hands tried to unbutton his shirt but she found she didn't have the dexterity she normally possessed as his hips slowly circled against her and his lips caressed every part of her he could reach making it near impossible for her to concentrate on anything.

"Luke…wait…" she tried to grip his shoulders to push him back but as his hips moved against her she ended up pulling him closer. "Luke, wait, stop…"

"Huh?" he barely lifted his head out of the crevice between her breasts for a second but quickly ducked his head again and suckled her nipple tightly into his mouth.

"Ah, Luke, oh god!" She arched her back and held his head against her breast. "Wait, let me…"

She gripped his head and pulled him away from her then carried on the momentum and pushed him back further. Luke sat back on his haunches, his mind a blur of need as he worried she had been trying to push him away without him even knowing.

"Sorry, I-"

"I just need to…" She reached through the darkness and gripped the lapels of his shirt to pull herself up and kneeled before him. Her hands made short work of his shirt and she dragged it down over his shoulders. "There. Much better." she said and let her hands roam back over his chest to his stomach where his muscles quivered under her exploring fingers.

"Oh, I thought…" he said with a soft relieved laugh as she pulled his belt out of the buckle, then sucked in a breath as her fingers pulled his trousers open and dragged them over the curve of his ass.

"Don't think…" she said as her hand held him in a sure grip making his moan. She fell back onto the mattress and he followed, her hand still holding him tightly. "One more night." she whispered as she opened her legs for him. Luke paused and looked at her, but in the utter darkness of the room he had no idea what expression was on her face. Half of him wanted to back off, turn on the light and see her face but with her hand still stroking him and her legs wrapped around his hips he found it hard to form any thought at all. Her lips found his and her tongue explored his mouth as her heel pressed his ass to make him lower his body onto her and she moaned.

One more night, he thought, as he dismissed all the doubts that careened around his head and focused on making her moan like that again.


	10. Chapter 10

Lorelai woke to an empty room.

The darkness was still heavy around the room so she rolled over to the lamp and flicked it on. Immediately she threw her arm over her face to hide from the stinging brightness. After she had adjusted to the brightness she sat up on the bed and and looked around the room. There was no sign Luke had ever been in here and she looked towards the bathroom to see if perhaps he was taking a shower but the light was off in there and the door was ajar.

"Luke?" she tested tentatively calling out to him but she was met only with silence. With a sigh Lorelai fell back onto the bed and threw her arms out either side. "So that was one more night," she whispered. She glanced at the clock and noticed it was just after two am and a grumble in her stomach reminded her she didn't have anything to eat since lunch. She dragged herself out of the bed, kicked the blankets aside and wandered into the bathroom. She splashed water over her face and tied her hair up in a loose pony tail then grabbed her flannel pj bottoms and pulled them on, then a zip up hoody before she slipped into some slipper socks and crept downstairs. The drawing room was deserted, the fire that had been blazing earlier mere embers now. The dining room was set up and ready for breakfast and the kitchen was cleaned and ready for morning prep. Lorelai went into the pantry and pulled out some bread then from the fridge she grabbed ham and cheese and quickly made a sandwich. She was sitting at the counter eating her snack with a tall glass of milk when she heard footsteps approaching. Lorelai froze, her sandwich poised at her mouth, her eyes wide and expectant. The kitchen door swung open and the light came on as Sookie came skipping in, whistling a soft tune.

"Jesus! Lorelai!" Sookie clutched her chest and stumped against the shelving behind her. "You frightened the life out of me."

"Sorry."

"What the hell are you doing up?" sookie recovered enough to come fully into the kitchen and took her usual place by counter.

"Hungry." Lorelai lifted the sandwich up and took a bite for effect.

"Luke didn't satisfy you?" Sookie said as she started to gather ingredients from the pantry.

Lorelai coughed on her sandwich as it went down the wrong pipe and took a sip of milk to sooth the irritation. "I haven't eaten since lunch."

"Luke-"

"Sookie!" Lorelai warned. "Anyway, what the hell are you doing up?"

"I'm just putting a breakfast casserole into the slow cooker."

"At this time of night?"

"It takes 5 hours to cook."

"Geez."

"Anyway, stop trying to change the subject." Sookie quickly chopped up the potatoes, onions and peppers without missing a beat. "What happened with you and Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"I sent him up to your room earlier with some chili. And I didn't see either of you for the rest of the night."

"Oh yeah, he came up and delivered the chili."

"Just the chili?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes and finished off her sandwich then carried the plate over to the dishwasher, along with her empty glass. "Good night Sook." She grabbed Sookie's shoulders and leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Don't stay up too late." And without giving her a chance to respond, Lorelai hurried back to her room. She shed her clothes and climbed back into bed for the third time that night and that thought made her smile. She curled up beneath the covers and slowly drifted off to sleep as her memory replayed her evening with Luke in stunning detail.

Luke showered and dressed with careful movements. His legs ached, his shoulder throbbed, his mind wandered and his fingers yearned to stroke her soft, burning hot skin again. He tied his boots and stood up with a slap on his knees then took a deep breath and left his room. He thought of going to her room, checking if she was there but knowing it would be the height of the breakfast time at the inn, he figured she would be down stairs. sure enough, as he reached the bottom, he could hear her chatting with Elsie in the drawing room. He wandered in and saw her sitting on the edge of the arm chair next to Elsie who was holding out a record.

"This one was our first dance at our wedding."

"Oh I bet you guys really cut a rug!"

"Brendan is a wonderful dancer!" Elsie said with a smile. "You know what they say about good dancers…"

Lorelai laughed. "No, what do they say?"

"Great hip control!" Elsie said and Lorelai laughed again, tossing her head back and spotting Luke who was leaning against the doorframe. Lorelai blushed and looked back at the record Elsie was holding up. "Yeah, Brendan is a great dancer!" Elise said and she nudged Lorelai with a smile.

"You are trouble Elsie," Lorelai said and she stood up and squeezed the elderly ladies shoulder. "Have you had breakfast?"

"I'll go in in a minute, when Brendan comes down."

"Okay, I'll be sure to tell sookie to keep a plate for you both." Lorelai smiled then turned to approach Luke who straightened off the door jamb and shucked his pants up. "Morning."

"Morning."

"Just up?"

"Yeah."

"Sleep ok?"

"Yeah." She found herself standing very close to him, swaying towards him, her eyes on his lips.

"Hungry?"

His eyes darted to her lips where her tongue appeared to lick them and he felt a tug of desire pull towards her from his centre. "Yeah…"

"Come in and grab some-"

"Mom!"

They both turned towards the open door where Rory was rushing in. Lorelai stepped back from Luke and brushed her hair behind her ears. "Rory!" She opened her arms and embraced the girl who ran across the reception and both of them twirled in a tight hug and fell to the floor. Luke stepped back to give them more room then further back again and went into the kitchen behind him. "What are you doing here? How did you get up here?" They stayed hugging on the floor, neither willing to let go just yet.

"I followed the snow plough."

"Rory, you shouldn't have been out driving in that!" Lorelai sat back and held Rory at arms length.

"Mom, it was fine, I had to come see you!" Rory winced. "I couldn't say with grandma one more day!"

Lorelai chuckled and pulled her daughter back tiny a tight hug. "I get that."

Before she could continue, Sookie came rushing out and added another body to the hug with a delighted squeal. "Rory!" the three of them were piled up on the floor at the reception laughing until Lorelai pushed Sookie back and sat up herself.

"Get off me child, I need to stand." Rory stood up with Sookie's help and the both helped Lorelai up too. She brushed her outfit down and turned to the door where a police office came walking in.

"Ms Gilmore," said with a smile as he took off his hat and came further into the room.

"My savior!" She approached and took his hand to shake then gathered him up in a hug.

'The roads are clear. We've dug out a route from here all the way through the mountain pass south."

"Great."

"Any trouble here, anyone need assistance down?" The officer tossed a thumb over her shoulder. "I have a van outside and I'm running back to town now."

"No trouble, I think everyone has-"

"Luke!" Sookie exclaimed making everyone turn to her. "His truck rolled off the road at the bottom or the hill."

"Anyone hurt?" the officer asked as he reached for his notepad.

"He had a bang on the head and dislocated shoulder." Sookie said and she grabbed a passing waiter to get him to bring Luke out from the kitchen. "He's ok now but his truck is totaled."

Luke appeared out from the kitchen and cautiously approached the small group in reception. "Sookie, Ollie said you wanted to see me?"

"The roads are open again," sookie said as she grabbed Lukes arm and pulled him closer. "This fine officer can help you get back to stars hollow, seeing as your truck was totaled."

"Oh, right yeah." Luke glanced at Lorelai who was carefully studying her own shoes. "Let me just grab my stuff." He avoided looking at Lorelai again and hurried up to his room only to then realise he had nothing. He arrived at the hotel with nothing but the coat on his back. He glanced around at the few items of clothing Lorelai had provided for him but thought it would be better to leave them here for another guest. He made his bed, folded the clothing and left them on the end of the bed then looked around before returning back downstairs.

Sookie was speaking with the officer by the reception counter and Rory and Lorelai were huddled in the arm chair just inside the drawing room. He hurried out to the wet room and grabbed his coat then retuned to the reception as he closed it up.

"Ready."

Sookie straightened up away from the reception desk and walked over with a sad smile. "It was great to meet you Luke."

"Thanks, it was my pleasure. Thanks for everything, really." She engulfed him in a tight hug and pulled back. Luke was surprised to see a sheen of tears in her eyes. She dabbed at them with the corner of her apron then hugged him again before hurrying off to the kitchen. Luke watched her go then turned to see Lorelai still sitting with Rory in the arm chair. Rory was engrossed in telling her a story and Lorelai looked up. She offered him a small smile and a shrug then mouthed "Goodbye". He looked away and followed the police officer out to the front garden where the van was parked.

"So you crashed your truck huh?" the cop said as he slammed the door behind him and reached for the seatbelt.

"Yeh. Stupidly." Luke fastened his own belt.

"Where are you from?"

"I just moved to Stars Hollow."

"Oh yeah?"

"Im opening a diner there, where Willis Hardware used to be."

"I've seen Tom working on that building. You need me to drop you off there?

"Actually, do you know a tow truck I can hire to get my truck out of the ditch?"

"Yeah, Gypsy has a truck, she can help you."

"Great, then thats where I need to go."

Lorelai listened to Rory tell the story of how she had to endure 4 days trapped with her mother in the large house but her ears were pricked for the sound of the police van pulling off. The crush of the tyres on the snow was almost enough to propel her off the couch and chase it down but she was instead distracted by a number of guests approaching the reception area looking for updates. Rory let her mother go and handle the guests as she wandered into the kitchen to where Sookie was already baking.

"Hey Sookie," she said as she climbed onto the stool next to the counter.

"Hey sweetie, its great to see you. How was your christmas?"

"Boring!"

"Were you snowed in too?"

"Not really, not like you guys. We could get out but most places are closed." Rory dipped her finger into the bowl Sookie was mixing up and tasted the batter. "How was everything here?"

"It was fine. We pulled off the wedding in the end." Sookie dished the batter out into cupcake cases. "Feels like a long time ago now."

"Angry guests?"

"No, after the initial shock of being snowed in, everyone settled into it."

Just then the door opened and Lorelai stuck her head in. "Hey Sookie, we have multiple guest checking out, can you give me a hand at the front desk?"

"Sure thing, I'll be right out." Sookie washed her hands and tore off her apron before tossing it over to Rory. "Watch my cupcakes, don't burn the place down!"

Out at reception Sookie and Lorelai helped everyone get going. Two cars needed to be jump started and one needed a tyre change but everyone else got out without trouble. By lunch time, all guests had been checked out and they called a staff meeting. In the drawing room all wait staff sat around as Lorelai and Sookie spoke quietly over in reception. Rory came around with cupcakes on a dish and made sure everyone got one.

"Hey everyone," Lorelai said and she clapped her hands to get everyones attention. "Firstly, a huge thank you to all of you for the last few days." She applauded and everyone joined in. "There was no way we could have kept every guest at the inn happy and sane without all of your help. For Ollie, you win the life saving award. For Brian, you win the laundry turnaround award, Sara, thanks to your evening entertainment of trivia quizzes you win the no one got killed award!" everyone chuckled and clapped along with Lorelai who was smiling wide around the room at them all. "But seriously, we are incredibly grateful for your help."

"To show you our thanks, we are offering everyone two days leave for tomorrow and the next day."

Everyone cheered. "The dragonfly inn is closing for the weekend. We've contacted all pending guests and our next check in is on New Years eve. I'll post shift coverage for that week tomorrow but for now, you should all go home, spend some time with your families and get some rest." Again, everyone cheered. "Does everyone have a lift home?"

"I'm driving, I can drop people off if they need it."

Over the next while they sorted out a car pool that worked and got everyone home safely and before an hour had passed Lorelai closed the front door of the inn and leaned back against it. She took a breath, tried not to think about the look on Luke's face as he walked out and instead went into the kitchen where Sookie and Rory were standing at the door of the pantry, their backs to her.

"All gone. Its just us," she said as she walked over to the coffee machine and started a fresh brew. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Whispering?" Rory turned and came over to her mother and hugged her from behind. "Nothing."

"Yeah, right."

"Who is Luke?" Rory asked as she rested her head against her mothers shoulder.

"What has Sookie told you?"

"Nothing. Is there something to tell?"

"No!" Lorelai reached for a mug and poured herself a fresh coffee. "He was a guest that stayed here during the storm."

"Just a guest?"

"Just a guest."

"Hmmm." Rory stepped away from her mother and went over to the counter. "She won't tell me anything Sook!"

"Sookie!" Lorelai called out. "What have you said to Rory?"

"Me?" Sookie popped her head out from the pantry and hurried over to the counter. She planted her elbows on the surface and cradled her head in her hands. "Nothing, why, is there something to tell?"

"I tried that already." Rory picked up her mothers coffee and sipped.

"Dang."

"You two are incorrigible." Lorelai snatched her coffee back and took it into the staff room. Sookie and Rory hurried to follow and sat either side of her on the couch. "Seriously?"

"Lorelai, you let him walk out without so much as a goodbye?" sookie said and she rubbed her hand ip and down her arm.

"I did say goodbye."

"Did you? to his face? out loud?" Sookie pressed and Lorelai looked over at Rory with a frown. Rory had the good sense to look sheepish and shrugged.

"Not quite, I was preoccupied when he left."

"Oh sweetie. You are your own worst enemy." Sookie squeezed her arm and got off the couch. "Tonight we're getting Chinese food." she declared. "I'm going up to my room to soak in the tub. Call me when dinner is here."

Rory and Lorelai watched as Sookie left and giggled when the door closed behind her. "I think she's mad at you for letting that guy leave."

"I wasn't holding him prisoner."

"You know what I mean," Rory slapped her mothers arm and snuggled back against her.

"What was I supposed to do? Grapple him to the ground and make him stay?"

"If thats what you wanted."

Lorelai scoffed. She sipped her coffee and hugged Rory back. If that was what she wanted. Was that what she wanted? She knew she wanted to certainly grapple him to the ground, but not in a forced goodbye, more of a welcoming hello. She smiled at the thought and wondered what he was doing now. Most likely he was back in his diner, inspecting the work that had been done in his absence. An image of him in jeans, white tee with a work belt on flashed into her mind and she felt her core stir. She closed her eyes to try and steady her beating heart, lest Rory sense the increase in pace, but now instead of him in a tee he was topless and she had to sit up to dispel the image.

"So Sookie had an idea about us having second christmas."

"Yay!"

"Chinese food, miracle on 34th Street and gift swap."

"Perfect. I have my gifts in the car, I'll go grab them."

"I'll call Chows and see abut getting a delivery."

Rory raced out to the car and grabbed her gifts and was placing them under the tree in the drawing room when Lorelai walked in with the phone held between her ear and shoulder as she carried more gifs out from her office.

"Yes, we will want delivery…what time will you be able to make it out?…No thats too early…how about 5?" She arranged the gifts in a pile next to Rory's then sat back on the floor. "okay, okay, make it 4."

She called out the order of food, ordering enough to feed a large family not just three women, then hung up and tossed the phone onto the couch behind them. "He's delivering early?"

"He said he won't come up the road after dark."

"Fair enough."

"We can keep it warmed and eat it at about 6."

"Sounds good."

"I'll light a fire in here, and we can settle in by the tree."

"Perfect."

Rory helped her mother with the logs from the back porch and rolling the paper and twigs for tinder. She noticed her mother was quieter than usual, no sing song to narrate her actions as she built the fire and most worryingly, no Tom Hanks "Look what I've created! I've made fire!" quote as the flame sparked. Sookie had shared with her what she had witnessed between her mother and this stranger names Luke and it made Rory happy to think that her mother was finally stepped out into the world again. But after chatting, or rather teasing her mother about it, she was afraid her hope had blossomed too early.

"Mom…" Rory sat back against the front of the couch and let her legs stretch towards the building fire. "Come, sit with me." Lorelai looked over her shoulder at her daughter who patted the floor next to her. As Lorelai crawled over, Rory grabbed a couple of cushions from the couch and they both settled in to a comfy position. "So, tell me about Luke."

"Rory-"

"Seriously, no teasing…" Rory linked her mothers arm with hers and held her in place. "Tell me."

"He crashed his truck." Lorelai spoke softly and looked over at the dancing flames. "He had been in looking for directions just before, and he was obnoxious and rude and I pretty much kicked him back out into the storm."

"Oh mom!" Rory said, stifling a laugh with the back of her hand.

"Anyway, he took off, crashed the truck, Ollie brought him back to the inn and we looked after him."

"Looked after him?"

Lorelai nudged her daughter and rolled her eyes. "He had a dislocated shoulder so we put that back in place."

"Gross."

"And he had a concussion. I stayed up with him all night, making sure he didn't slip into a coma."

"Oh wow, that must have been scary."

Lorelai shrugged. "We sat up in the staff room, watching movies and chatting. It was kind of nice actually," she added but refused to glance over at Rory who was watching her so intently. "Well the storm had hit us pretty bad and Luke ended up being a great help. He fixed the generator. He cooked. He fixed a few things around the inn like leaky pipes, and shelving."

"Wow, sounds like he was a god send!"

Lorelai chuckled. "He was useful, thats for sure."

"So…?" Rory probed after her mother fell silent for a while.

"So what?"

"If thats all there was to tell, then why is Sookie insistent that there is more. And if thats all there really is, why didn't you say it earlier?"

Lorelai cursed her daughters acute observation skills. "I um…"

"Did something happen between you two?" Lorelai glanced over at her daughter and felt her blush creep over her cheeks and Rory smiled. "Did he kiss you?" Lorelai nodded. Rory squealed with delight and squeezed her mothers arm against her again. "Did you kiss him back?"

Lorelai laughed and dropped her head against the couch behind them. "It was just…"

"A snowed in fling?" Lorelai didn't answer. She didn't want to say "fling". It made it feel cheap, it made her feel cheap. But most of all, she didn't want it to be a fling. "Or was it something more?"

"I dunno, honey," Lorelai said eventually. "It was…what it was."

"Was." Rory repeated after her mother. "As in, is no longer." Lorelai didn't respond again and this time Rory let her stew in silence a bit longer. "You know you're allowed to have a relationship mom." Lorelai rolled her head to look at her daughter without lifting it. "I know in the passed you let some…opportunities slip by because I-."

"Oh honey no."

"Mr Medina." Rory said, speaking of a short lived romance Lorelai had shared with one of her teachers. "Jason. Alex."

"Rory, let me say this and then let that be the end of it." Lorelai sat up and turned to face Rory with a soft smile. "None of those relationships worked. Not because I was holding back, but because… they just didn't work."

"Mom-"

"Rory, don't you ever think you're the cause of any of my failed attempts at a relationship." Lorelai pulled her daughter closer and hugged her against her. She kissed the top of her head and rested her cheek against it. "I would choose you over anyone. Anyone."

"Thanks Mom." Rory said and she let her mother hug her for a moment more, then pushed away and turned to face her. "But what I'm saying is… you don't need to choose anymore." Rory held her mothers gaze. "I moving to university soon. You'll have the room to explore a relationship. You don't need to protect me from a string of men in and out of your life. Or your room," she added with a smile.

"Rory!" Lorelai said with a laugh. "There is no string of men!"

"But there could be."

"I don't want a string of men."

"Well one man on repeat visits then!" Rory cut her off. "And I'm not talking about Luke. I could be, but I just mean for you to start looking out for yourself. Start making decisions based on your own happiness." Lorelai turned back to the fire and let her daughters words wash over her. "Its time."

A knock on the door outside made them both look round as the door opened and a young man wrapped up in winter gear walked in carrying three large take out bags. "Oh!" Rory jumped up and grabbed the bags off him as Lorelai pair him with a sizable tip. She followed Rory into the kitchen where she was putting the dishes into the oven. "Shall I make up some hot chocolate?"

"Yeah, I'll go tell sookie foods here."

Lorelai grabbed the cocoa and milk and a pan from the shelf under the hob then started to make the cocoa. her mind wandered to Luke. She slowly stirred the mixture and followed the memory to wherever it wanted to take her.

Luke stood in the garage floor and watched Gypsy lower his truck from the bed of her flat bed. The damage seemed to be cosmetic and he circled the truck behind Gypsy as she examined it closer.

"So what do you think?"

"New windows, need to hammer out the dents in the bonnet, drivers door, wheel arch."

"How much do you reckon it will cost?" he asked, all to aware that his bank balance was getting lighter and lighter with all the diner renovations.

"Cosmetics can be fixed pretty cheaply, but until I get a proper look under the hood, I'm not sure about final cost."

"When can you give me an assessment?"

Gypsy looked at her watch. "Its just gone seven now," she muttered. "I have to get home and watch Criminal Minds. It'll be tomorrow before I get a chance to take a real look."

"Okay, okay." Luke turned away and looked across the small town square to his new diner. The work lights were still lit and a few men were adding the last touches to the paint work. "I'll be over there," he said as he pointed at the diner.

"You're the new owner?"

"Yeah. I'll come back tomorrow, around lunch?"

"Okay, I'll have an answer for you then on what needs fixing and how much it will cost."

"Thanks." Luke shook her hand and walked back to the diner. The painting was just finished as he entered and met Tom by the entrance to the kitchen. "Hey Tom."

"Luke, good to have you back safe."

"Yeah, helluva storm."

"So we're just about done."

Luke looked around and watched as the painters started clearing up the last of the equipment. "Place looks great Tom."

Tom nodded his head, as if he expected nothing less then walked Luke through all the changes that had been made. The upgraded electric in the kitchen, along the counter and in the converted office upstairs. The walk in pantry and fridge were ready with empty shelving for all the supplies Luke was hoping would arrive in the next day or so. The equipment had been installed, the tables assembled and chairs stacked against the back wall. Luke thanks Tom again and asked him to send him a detailed invoice for payment then walked him out and shut the door behind him.

He surveyed his diner. All he needed now was enough supplies to start cooking and he would be ready to open. He started to unstack the chairs and put them around the individual tables and stepped back to look at the diner. Luke felt a tug on his heart as he imagined his dad standing next to him. In the last few weeks with his dad they had talked about this diner often. Planned equipment placement, menu items, house specials and seasonal offers and now as he stood in the middle of everything that had planned he felt so much closer to his dad than he had since he passed.

"Alright Dad, lets cook your favourite." He had enough supplies to cook his own dinner that evening and proceeded to start making baked mac and cheese.

Sookie curled up on the arm chair with Lorelai siting cross legged in front of him and Rory was stretched out across the couch asleep. the movie credits were rolling and Lorelai finished her hot chocolate. They had swapped gifts and finished their food and all fell into a contented silence to watch the movie.

"Sookie?" Lorelai whispered as she glanced over at Rory to see if she was awake.

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to go out for a minute."

"Out?" Sookie looked over at the clock and saw it was only 8pm, but the roads would be quite icy out there after the light snow fall that had started soon after sun down. "Out where?" Lorelai turned on her butt and looked at Sookie with a sheepish smile. "Oh! You're going to him!" Sookie clapped her hands in delight but Lorelai shhh'd her and grabbed her hands to quieten her. Sookie nodded her head and clapped again but this time miming and smiling.

"I won't be long, I just want to…"

"Go."

Lorelai knelt up and hugged her friend then grabbed her coat and keys and left.

Luke rolled out a pastry and gently placed it over the top of the pie then cut off the excess and sealed the edges with the tines of a fork. He brushed the top with egg wash and placed it aside before reaching into the oven to pull out the mac and cheese. As he bent down to put the pie into the oven, he heard the unfamiliar ding of the bell over the door opening. Luke paused and listened again and as the door closed heard the bell ringing again. He closed the over door, tossed the towel over his shoulder and stood up. He grabbed the rolling pin as he walked through the kitchen and emerged into the darkened diner poised ready to strike.

Lorelai stood inside the door. Her hair was loose and wind whipped, her cheeks red and rosy and her coat buttoned up askew giving her a slightly panicked look.

"Lorelai?"

"Hey."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

She looked up at the rolling pin he was still holding up as if he was about to strike her. "About to be pummeled!"

"Huh?" Luke looked up at the pin then lowered it and put it in the counter next to the register. "Oh sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone."

"I know, sorry, I shouldn't have just dropped by like this. I can't stay long, I need to get back."

"Dropped by?" Luke looked out at the soft snowfall. "Did you just drive down from the inn?"

"Yeah." she looked over her shoulder and spotted her jeep parked haphazardly on the curb outside the diner.

"In that?" Luke walked around the counter to stand next to her and saw the jeep.

"Yeah."

"Geez, are you crazy?" he looked over at her with a bewildered frown.

Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Yeah."

"Let me fix you a coffee, you must be freezing." He walked back around the counter and switched on the coffee machine.

"No, Luke," she said as she followed him close behind. "I'm fine. I just-"

"I just got mac and cheese out of the oven," he turned and went to go into the kitchen but she was blocking his way. "Let me give you some, it'll heat you up."

"No, I'm not cold, I'm-"

"I've got a pie in the oven," he said as he side stepped around her and moved towards the archway into the kitchen. "It'll be ready in about twenty minutes."

"Luke, stop!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him back around to face her. "I've just eaten with Sookie and Rory, I'm not hungry. I'm not cold either." He looked down at her, as if he didn't quite believe she was standing here. "I came here to see you…I wanted to ask you."

"Ask me? Ask me what?" his mind reeled with the possibilities of what she might want to ask him. Was she asking him to pay for his room? food? perhaps she was delivering an invoice for his entire stay.

Now standing in front of him her words failed her and she struggled to figure out the right way to say what she wanted to say without blurting it out in her usual awkward manner. "Was it just the snow?" she said, almost shouting it at him as her hand gripped his arm tighter.

"What?"

"The snow. The inn. You and me. Was it just the snow?"

Finally catching on, Luke grabbed her arm as if he was afraid she was disappear. "No!" he stepped closer gripping her elbow with his other hand and making sure she wouldn't move away. "No, it wasn't just the snow…it was… it was you."

"So it wasn't a fling… it was a thing."

Luke let out a soft laugh. "I hoped it wasn't a fling."

"So its a thing?"

"Definitely a thing." he lowered his head and pulled her closer. He hovered his lips just above hers, basking in the sharp anticipation of the kiss then closed the infinitesimal distance and crushed his lips against hers. He moved his arms and wrapped them tight around her, securing her body against his and ensuring she didn't move away and Lorelai gripped the back of his shirt with two strong fistfuls. When he pulled back he wasn't satisfied in letting her go quite yet and instead he pressed his forehead to hers then rolled his head to press his cheek against hers and simply held her against him.

"Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"I think you were right…"

"About what?"

"This cheek kiss thing…its chiropractic."

"Oh sorry!" he pulled back from her and held her at arms length for a moment then slowly pulled her in again and held her against him, nestling her head against the front of his shoulder and burying his nose in the crook of hers. He kissed her neck, brushed her hair aside and kissed her just below her ear before sucking her lobe into his mouth and lightly biting down. Lorelai gasped and moaned softly urging him on with her hand buried in his fine hair. His hands moved down to her hips and he guided her back towards the counter then with a squeeze he lifted her up and deposited her back down on the edge. Her legs naturally fell either side of him and he stood between them as if this was just where he always belonged. Her arms were around his neck, holding him close and his hands gripped her hips and curved around to her ass.

"Definitely not a fling," he murmured against her lips and felt her smile. Her tongue appeared and licked his lips and he devoured her with a moan, pulling her even closer to the edge. His hands moved to the front of her coat where he tugged the buttons open, then slipped his hands into the sides of her coat to her back where he slipped them under her top and pressed against the searing hot skin on her back. Lorelai arched towards him, pressing her breasts against his chest with a gasp as his hands moved up her spine then around to her ribs, his thumbs brushing smoothly against the side of her breasts as he became bolder and cupped them fully.

She wanted to be rid of her coat, her top, her jeans, everything, but also needed him to be rid of all the barriers he was wearing. Her hands moved from his shoulders to the front of his shirt and she undid the buttons as far as she could reach then just started to tug it up over his head. With an angry grunt he released her lips and breasts and lifted his arms up to let her pull his shirt off over his head then quickly moved his hands back and reclaimed her breasts with a firm squeeze, this time slipping his hands under her bra to feel her skin against his palms with satisfied moan against her mouth.

Then abruptly he pulled away from her and released her completely. "My pie!" he raced back into the kitchen and checked the oven but luckily the pie wasn't burned. Lorelai sat shocked on the counter, her shirt undone and open to the sides, her bra pushed up exposing her breasts entirely. After a few minutes, Luke reappeared in the archway and Lorelai lost her breath at the sight of him. He was topless and carried a warm apple pie.

"Wow." she uttered without realizing she spoke aloud.

"What?" he moved towards the counter and placed the pie down on a rack then tossed the towel, he used to carry it, over his shoulder in a practiced gesture.

"This is one of my favourite fantasies."

"Huh?"

"Hot, topless guy, bringing me pie."

Luke smiled and she noticed the blush creep over his cheeks as his chin dropped to his chest and he slowly walked over. He put his hands on her knees and drew them apart so he could step in between her legs and get back to where he was. His hands moved over her thighs, over the swell of her hips, up against her ribs and back to claim his possession of her breasts.

"This is one of my favourite fantasies," he muttered as he nuzzled against her neck.

"Semi naked chick siting on your counter."

"Just you."

Lorelai chuckled and arched her back to press her breasts into his palms as he massaged her slowly. "So a new fantasy then."

"New…and so vivid." His lips trailed over to the other side of her neck to gently bite down on her other lobe.

"Oh we're definitely a thing," Lorelai gasped as his tongue moved from the hollow at the bottom of her throat to her chin.

"Definitely." He stood up straight and his hands fell to her thighs as his eyes connected with hers. "This isn't quite the part where I produce a ring and propose like in the movies." Lorelai chuckled. "But it is the part where I make sure you know how I feel."

"Oh Luke…"

"I know it was hard for you to come here this evening." he looked down at her hands that tugged him closer with a few fingers curled into his jeans. "I know because I wanted to run back to you, but I didn't. I didn't think you'd want me. I thought…I thought maybe you only wanted a fling."

"I thought you only wanted a fling."

Luke smiled. "The minute I woke up on that couch and saw you sitting over me, I knew I wanted to kiss you." He kissed her softly for emphasis. "And the minute I got my hands on you…" His hands moved up over her hips and curled around to the small of her back. "I knew I didn't want to let go."

He moved in and kissed her tenderly then leaned back and looked down at her with a smile. She looked up at him with wonder, and for a moment Luke faltered wondering if he had said too much, too soon. It was totally out of character for him. he usually played his cards very close to his chest and often had to have them pried out of his hands to share them with anyone, but with Lorelai he found these things coming out of his mouth that he hadn't even had time to think about himself and yet here he was sharing. Oversharing? Luke glanced up at her to see if she was still staring at him. Shit. She was. He started to feel himself close down. His hands moved back to her hips and he started to back away from the comfy circle of her legs but before he could she clenched her thighs around him and held him in place.

Her hands trailed up his arms, over his shoulders and cupped his face then she pulled him closer and kissed him tenderly. "Were you going to come back for me?"

"Yes." he said without hesitation. "I'm not sure what excuse I would have come up with, but first thing in the morning I was coming for you."

Lorelai laughed and Luke glanced down at her bare breasts as she moved. "So I just bet you by a couple of hours."

"Yeah."

"Will you come back tomorrow? Have dinner with us?"

"Us?"

"Me, Rory, Sookie. We're having proper Christmas dinner at the inn tomorrow."

"I'd love to." He bent and kissed her then pulled back and smiled. "You've gotta get back tonight, huh?"

"Yeah, I do," she admitted, her voice a whisper as if she didn't really want to say it aloud.

"Okay. Well take some pie with you." he moved aside and put the pie into a box then closed the lid and slid it over to her.

"Thanks."

"Maybe I should drive you back, the roads are pretty wild out there."

"its fine, the snow isn't sticking and my jeep has magic tyres."

"Magic tyres?" he said doubtfully, but was distracted as she shimmied her bra back into place and closed her top over again.

"Yeah, gypsy put them on at the start of the winter. They grip the road with magic or something."

"Oh, winter tyres." He helped her down off the counter then took her hand and walked her to the door.

"Stay inside, its cold out and I want to remember you like this. Topless and waving." Luke blushed again and Lorelai smiled. "Oh this is going to be fun." she said with a giggle as she leaned up on her toes and kissed him with a lingering kiss, exploring his mouth in slow sure strokes until she felt his hands creep up from her ass towards her breasts again as if being pulled magnetically. "Stop, no more distractions, I need to get back."

"Aww," Luke pouted as she pushed him back and opened the door. He held it open and leaned against the frame as she hurried across the road and climbed into her jeep. She watched him as she drove off and kept one eye on his in the rear view mirror for as long as she could. Luke stayed by the door until she was out of sight, and even a little longer after that. When he was sure she was gone he closed and locked the door then wandered back into the kitchen to try and salvage his mac and cheese.

"So that was Lorelai," he muttered as he slipped the dish back into the warming oven then turned and rested back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest and he couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped passed his lips. "She's right…this is going to be fun."

 **The End.**

 **Skinfull.**

 **2018**

* * *

 **A/N:** This was a fun write, but there are many plot holes (where is Michel? Why didn't anyone celebrate christmas? Doesn't Lorelai love snow?!) I could keep it going past this ending but I think its a good spot to call it a day, and I have another idea I wanna work on anyway.

I have tried to keep the smut to a minimum to keep the T rating, please let me know if i should change it. Meanwhile, I'll post the accompanying smut in a separate fic sometime, for those of you who are interested in it.


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